Nepal earthquake: rescue continues as death toll exceeds 2,500 - live updates

 A Buddha statue is surrounded by debris from a collapsed temple in the UNESCO world heritage site of Bhaktapur on April 26, 2015 in Bhaktapur, Nepal. Photograph: Omar Havana/Getty Images

• The death toll from the 7.9 magnitude earthquake that struck Nepal on Saturday has risen to more than 2,500. More than 5,000 people have been injured. Powerful aftershocks today between Kathmandu and Everest unleashed more avalanches in the Himalayas and caused panic in the capital, where hospital workers stretchered patients out into the street as it was too dangerous treat them indoors.
• At least 17 people believed to have been killed on Everest, and 61 injured, by an avalanche which left mountaineers calling for helicopter assistance to evacuate the most badly wounded.
• The UK government has announced that it will donate £5m to help the rescue effort in Nepal.
• A state of emergency has been declared Many historic landmarks, including the Dharahara tower, have been reduced to rubble following the quake.
• Governments are scrambling to locate thousands of their nationalsand relatives took to social media to find their loved ones.
• The international community has also pledged support and aid packages to Nepal. The US secretary of state, John Kerry, has said the US will pledge $1m to the aid effort and will also assist with a disaster response team. Australia has also pledged a Aus$5m aid package, while India, Sri Lanka, the UK, China and others are all sending disaster response teams to assist in search and rescue.
• Pope Francis led prayers in St Peter’s Square for the dead, displaced and injured in Nepal and surrounding areas.
• Weather reports suggested that survivors of the quake - who are sleeping outside because of fear of unsafe building - will face heavy downpours in the next week.
• The quakes caused widespread damage to Nepal’s infrastructure which has further hampered search and rescue operations. Injured climbers at Mount Everest, where an avalanche struck following the quake, have been flown by helicopter to receive medical treatment.

The official number of dead from Saturday’s Himalayan earthquake has topped 2,500 and may continue to rise as remote areas near the epicenter are searched, according to the Associated Press.

Nepal authorities said Sunday that at least 2,430 people in that country had died in Nepal alone, not including the 18 people that the Nepal Mountaineering Association says died in an earthquake-triggered avalanche on Mount Everest. Another 61 people died from the quake in India and a few in other neighboring countries.

With search and rescue efforts far from over, it was unclear how much the death toll would rise.

This from reader Shashank Suman BTL about the Indian government’s efforts to help the rescue operation:

As part of the nation’s overall relief effort for Nepal, the Indian Army has launched Operation Maitri.

A Multi National Coordination Centre has been set up. In addition, in PPO Pokhra, Head quarters are being established for relief operations.

The following resources have been allocated so far as part of Operation Maitri, in support of the Nepalese Army’s relief effort:-

(a) 18 Medical Teams earmarked. Six Medical Teams have reached and have been deployed while the rest are on standby.

(b) 10 Engineer Task Forces(ETFs) consisting of manpower, skid steers and JCBs (One partial ETF has landed with stores. Balance are on standby in India).

(c) 10,000 blankets and 1,000 tents are on standby.

(d) 10 INMARSATs for satellite communications have reached Nepal.

Aviation assets of five ALH helicopters and two Cheetah helicopters have been staged forward to Gorakhpur.

“Further, taking cognizance of the request of the Nepalese Government for Oxygen on account of problems in the Kathmandu Oxygen plant, additional cylinders are being dispatched (300 located at Bengdubi for dispatch to Nepal),” read a statement.

Indian Army Everest Expedition was training at Base Camp when the Earth Quake struck. Their equipment was buried in the avalanche, however the team is safe and helped in recovery of dead bodies of other foreign climbers.

“19 dead bodies and 61 injured persons were rescued by the Indian Army Expedition Team,” read the statement

The Medical Officer has treated a number of injured international mountaineers.

New footage from Kathmandu shows the aftermath of Saturday’s magnitude 7.9 earthquake with houses toppled and multi-storey apartments reduced to rubble.

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 New footage from the day after a 7.9 earthquake hit Nepal shows the extent of the damage caused, and the situation facing survivors.

Debt-relief campaigners Jubilee USA Network have sent an interesting press release, pointing out that Nepal could qualify for assistance from the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) newCatastrophe Containment and Relief Trust (CCR).

“Nepal could qualify for immediate relief,” said Eric LeCompte, executive director of Jubilee USA Network. “Nepal’s earthquake is why the International Monetary Fund created a new rapid response relief fund.”

The IMF created the CCR in February to provide debt relief to poor countries impacted by natural disasters or health crises. The new fund canceled nearly $100 million in debt for Ebola-impacted countries. In order to qualify for relief from the new fund after a natural disaster, a country must meet certain criteria. The disaster must destroy more than 25% of the country’s “productive capacity,” impact one third of its people or cause damage greater than the size of the country’s economy. It is not yet known if Nepal will qualify. Nepal owes the IMF $54 million, with $10 million due in 2015 and nearly $13 million due in 2016.

 A Nepalese cycle rickshaw puller pedals past buildings at the Basantapur Durbar Square that were damaged in Saturday s earthquake in Kathmandu, Nepal. Photograph: Bernat Armangue/AP

We have an updated story from our correspondents on the ground in Nepal.

A strong aftershock has caused panic and frustrated frantic efforts to reach possible survivors of Saturday’s earthquake in Nepal, as the death toll rose to 2,152 and the government declared a state of emergency.

Officials in the Himalayan country said they expected the number of dead and injured to rise again, while emergency supplies began to trickle in to affected areas after several countries pledged millions of dollars in desperately needed aid and sent in search and rescue teams.

More than 5,000 people were injured after the magnitude 7.9 earthquake struck late on Saturday morning. Local authorities said all but a few dozen of the deaths occurred in Nepal, and that at least 721 people had died in the Nepalese capital Kathmandu alone.

Dozens of aftershocks, including a powerful temblor on Sunday afternoon, have jolted Nepal over the weekend, forcing thousands of people to shelter where they can.

Nepalese authorities continually revised the number of dead upwards a day after the earthquake wrecked houses, flattened centuries-old temples and triggered avalanches on Mount Everest.

On Sunday afternoon, climbers left stranded by initial avalanches on Everest were again in fear for their lives after a magnitude 6.7 aftershock triggered more avalanches. It also sent terrified residents running into the streets in Kathmandu.

“Another one, we have an aftershock right now. Oh shit!” said Indian climber Arjun Vajpai over the phone from Makalu base camp near Everest. “Avalanche!” he shouted. Screams and the sound of snow cascading down the mountainside could be heard over the line as he spoke.

The aftershock was the most powerful since the initial earthquake – itself the strongest since Nepal’s worst earthquake, in 1934, in which 8,500 people died.