Hundreds of foreign and Nepalese climbers trapped in the Himalayas after 7.9 magnitude quake

At least 3,617 people are now known to have died in a massive earthquake which hit Nepal on Saturday, police say. More than 6,500 people have been injured, according to the National Emergency Operation Centre. Dozens of people are also reported to have been killed in neighbouring China and India. More than 200 climbers have been rescued around Mount Everest, which was struck by deadly avalanches in the 7.8-magnitude quake.

According to Reuters, thousands of desperate Nepalese spent another night in the open in the early hours of Monday, terrorized by strong aftershocks that continued to shake the country two days after a massive quake struck.

Across the capital, Kathmandu, and beyond, exhausted families whose homes were either flattened or at risk of collapse laid mattresses out on streets and erected tents to shelter from rain. The sick and wounded also lay out in the open, unable to find beds in the city's overwhelmed hospitals.

People queued for water dispensed from the back of trucks, while the few stores still open had next to nothing on their shelves. Crowds jostled at one pharmacy to snap up medicine. In crowded Kathmandu, many buildings were flattened or badly damaged.

High in the Himalayas, hundreds of foreign and Nepalese climbers remained trapped after a huge avalanche killed 17 people in the worst single disaster to hit Mount Everest.

Several countries rushed to send aid and personnel.

In the Himalayas, hundreds of climbers were still feeling tremors on Sunday powerful enough to send snow and boulders cascading toward them. The huge and deadly avalanche on Saturday triggered by the earthquake caused panic at Everest base camp, a sprawling "city" of tents from where mountaineers set off for the world's highest peak.

Among the capital's landmarks destroyed in the earthquake was the 60-metre (200-foot) Dharahara Tower, built in 1832 for the queen of Nepal.

sourced:traveldailynews.asia