Nepal scrambles to organise quake relief, many flee capital
Updated: 2015-04-28 09:16
(Agencies)
|
|||||||||||
People ride on buses as traffic is affected by a landslide caused by an earthquake, in Kurintar, Nepal April 27, 2015. [Photo/Agencies] |
FLIGHT FROM KATHMANDU
Many of Kathmandu's one million residents have slept in the open since Saturday, either because their homes were flattened or they were terrified that aftershocks would bring them crashing down.
On Monday, thousands streamed out of the city. Roads leading from Kathmandu were jammed with people, some carrying babies, trying to climb onto buses or hitch rides aboard cars and trucks to the plains. Huge queues had formed at the airport.
"We are escaping," said Krishna Muktari, who runs a small grocery store in Kathmandu, standing at a road intersection.
Meanwhile, the extent of Nepal's disaster was only just emerging as reports of devastation began to come in from other parts of the country.
High in the Himalayas, hundreds of climbers were staying put at Mount Everest base camp, where a huge avalanche after the earthquake killed 17 people in the single worst disaster to hit the world's highest mountain.
Rescue teams, helped by clear weather, used helicopters to airlift scores of people stranded at higher altitudes, two at a time.
In Sindhupalchowk, about a three-hour drive northeast of Kathmandu, the death toll had reached 875 people and was expected to rise. In Dhading, close to the quake's epicentre west of Kathmandu, 241 people were killed.
Survivors spoke of trying to stay flat on the ground while the tremors shook the forested mountains. Some were stuck for hours afterwards, unable to move because of injuries.
"There is nobody helping people in the villages. People are dying where they are," said A. B. Gurung, a Nepali soldier who was waiting in Dhading district for an Indian helicopter that had gone to his village Darkha.
Related Stories
PLA unit leaves for Nepal 2015-04-28 07:17
Nepal urgently needs tents, dry food, medicine: official 2015-04-27 20:25
Beijing visitors to Nepal come home 2015-04-27 17:39
Chinese government medical team heads to quake-hit Nepal 2015-04-27 17:07
Air Force planes sent to Nepal for quake relief 2015-04-27 17:02
S.Korea to send 40-member rescue team to quake-hit Nepal 2015-04-27 16:36
Today's Top News
China rescue team starts work in Nepal
At least 20 dead in Tibet following Nepal quake
Opinion: China leads in many high-speed rail aspects
Neighborly visits on border
China plays down capital exodus
The real Apple Watchon sale Friday in China
US strike inadvertently killed US, Italian hostages
Duties on rare earth exports to be ended
Hot Topics
Lunar probe , China growth forecasts, Emission rules get tougher, China seen through 'colored lens', International board,
Editor's Picks
What do we know about AIIB |
Full coverage of Boao Forum for Asia |
Annual legislative and political advisory sessions |
Festival Special: Apps that make holiday shopping easier |
Listed firms caught in anti-corruption net |
Conca set to return to China |