Fresh 6.7 Magnitude Earthquake Hits Nepal, toll rises to over 2400

mangaloretoday.com

New Delhi, April 26: A powerful, magnitude 6.7 aftershock has shaken the Kathmandu area of Nepal a day after the massive earthquake devastated the region, sending people yelling and running for open ground. Tremors were felt in most parts of north and northeast India including Kolkata, Siliguri and Assam. Minutes after the first aftershock, Nepal felt another measuring 5.0 in magnitude.

The US Geological Survey says the aftershock on Sunday registered at a shallow depth of 10 kilometers (6 miles). 1,910 people were killed in Nepal, at least 57 in India, 17 in Tibet and two in Bangladesh. Two Chinese citizens died at the Nepal-China border.

Overwhelmed doctors moved hundreds of patients onto the streets of Nepal’s capital today when aftershocks rattled hospitals and buildings already damaged by an earthquake that killed more than 2,400 people and devastated Kathmandu valley.

Sick and wounded people lay on a dusty road outside Kathmandu Medical College while hospital workers carried more patients out of the building on stretchers and sacks.

 

The earthquake hit a heavily populated area of Nepal, including the capital, Kathmandu, and its impact spread far beyond the Kathmandu Valley. Strong aftershocks were felt as late as Sunday morning.

Local hospitals are rapidly filling with injured residents, and Kathmandu’s international airport remains shut.

India was quick to come to Nepal’s aid with four IAF transport aircraft carrying about 10 National Disaster Relief Force (NDRF) teams, totalling 450 personnel, reaching Nepal on Saturday evening. Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke on the phone with President Ram Baran Yadav and assured all the help required.

3.47 pm: China, Australia, Japan, New Zealand are also trying to locate their citizens in Nepal. According to an AFP report,  China said it is chartering flights to pick up 683 tourists that were in the country.

Australia’s Foreign Minister Julie Bishop said her government had contacted more than 200 of the 549 Australians
in the Nepal, while New Zealand’s Foreign Minister Murray McCully said more than 110 nationals had been accounted for.

Japan’s foreign ministry said it has set up a liaison office to help locate the 1,100 of its nationals who were staying in Nepal when the quake hit, Jiji news agency reported.

3.40 pm: People from Karnataka who were stranded in Nepal after the earthquake have started arriving in India in batches. A batch of 82 people belonging to Karnataka has reached Delhi in an IAF aircraft, the Secretary, Disaster Management said in a release.

Officials said 35 people from Haralahalli in Mandya District are on their way to Gorakpur and added that another batch of 30 people from Belagavi are also on their way to the Indian border.

3.10 pm: Nepal death tolls crosses 2200, reports Reuters. The report points out that rescuers dug with their bare hands and bodies piled up in Nepal and that the fresh aftershocks triggered another avalanche on Mount Everest.

2.50 pm All relief operations headed to Kathmandu have been kept on hold till 4 PM