Earthquake in Nepal: "No chance of finding more survivors"

(Baonghean.vn) - Nepalese authorities said the search for more survivors of the earthquake under the rubble is almost hopeless, as the death toll has risen to 6,621 people.

Nepalese authorities say the death toll is expected to rise as rescue teams find more victims. Photo: Reuters

"We have tried our best in rescue and relief work but now I don't think there is any possibility of survival," Home Ministry spokesman Laxmi Prasad Dhakal told AFP on Saturday, May 2.

Nepal said 14,021 people were injured in the 7.9 magnitude earthquake last Saturday.

The fate of thousands of people in remote areas remains unknown.

The death toll could rise, as search and rescue efforts are continuing in several hilly districts including Dhading, Rasuwa and Sindhupalchok, relief coordinator Hemanta Pal said.

While the majority of casualties were in Nepal, around 100 people are believed to have died in neighbouring India, Tibet and Bangladesh.

The whereabouts of more than 1,000 European citizens remain unclear, the European Commission's representative in Nepal, Rensje Teerink, said on Friday.

Signs pleading for help in Bhaktapur, Nepal, with questions about how foreign aid is being allocated. Photo: Reuters

Nepal has repeatedly called for humanitarian aid from abroad, admitting it is ill-prepared for potential disasters.

Landslides and bad weather have hampered efforts to deliver aid to isolated districts, and only about 20 helicopters can be used for rescue and relief operations.

Nepal's Information Minister Minendra Rijal told the Associated Press that Nepal needs about 400,000 tents but has so far been provided with only 29,000.

Finance Minister Ram Sharan Mahat said Nepal needed better food aid. "We have been getting things like tuna and mayonnaise. What use is that to us? We need grains, salt and sugar," Mahat told the AP.

Nepal has also not received tens of millions of dollars as pledged by foreign donors, Mr. Mahat said.

“Not a single dollar has been deposited into the government account,” he said.

“I am not saying it will not come. It will take some time but right now the entire Nepal operation is completely funded by the government's internal resources.”

A Nepalese woman waits to have her child examined at a disaster relief camp in Kathmandu. Photo: AFP

Unicef ​​has also warned that children in the worst-hit areas are “homeless, terrified and deprived of basic care services”.

"Hospitals are overwhelmed, water is scarce, bodies are still buried under the rubble and people are still sleeping in the open. This is an environment where diseases can flourish," said Rownak Khan, UNICEF's deputy representative in Nepal.

Nepalese authorities have temporarily banned the slaughter of animals and the sale of meat and fish in many areas of Kathmandu in an effort to contain the outbreak.

Pham Tien Hoan

According to BBC