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Nepal earthquake death toll reaches 5,844: Officials

Thursday, 30 April 2015 3:55 PM [ Last Update: Thursday, 30 April 2015 3:55 PM ]

A Nepalese family sit outside makeshift tents at Laprak village, in northern-central Gorkha district, April 30, 2015. © AFP

The Nepalese government says the death toll from the country’s massive earthquake has increased to 5,844.

According to Nepal’s Ministry of Home Affairs on Thursday, over 11,175 were also injured in the incident.

The April 25 quake also left 134,864 houses destroyed and 92,971 partially damaged, the ministry added.

Earlier in the day, Nepal’s National Emergency Operation Center announced that the incident has been most devastating in Sindhupalchowk District, north of the capital city of Kathmandu, where 1, 587 have reportedly lost their lives.

UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator Valerie Amos arrives in Nepal to assess rescue operations in the quake-stricken country, April 30, 2015.

Meanwhile, UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator Valerie Amos arrived in Nepal to express her support for the ongoing rescue operations in the affected areas.

Amos is scheduled to spend three days in the Himalayan country to “show solidarity with the Nepalese people, raise the visibility of the crisis and assess the response operations,” said UN spokesman, Farhan Haq.

This is while reports said the Nepalese are extremely angry at the lack of help from the government and the international community.

“It’s been five days and no one has come to us. One international NGO came with around 100 tents but the people needed around 10,000. They were so angry, violence was about to break out,” said Ramesh Prahananga, the manager of an orphanage in Bhaktapur, east of the capital, adding that 40 percent of the city has been ruined.

Nepalese women and children wait in line to receive food distributed by a non-government organization in the center of Kathmandu, April 30, 2015. © AFP

On Wednesday, Nepal’s Premier Sushil Koirala said the government has failed to start the rescue operations in many of the affected area.

“The government is doing all it can for rescue and relief on a war footing.… It is a challenge and a very difficult hour for Nepal,” Koirala said, adding, “We have been unable to initiate rescue efforts in many areas at the same time due to lack of equipment and rescue experts.”

The powerful earthquake also killed 61 people in neighboring India, and 25 in China’s autonomous Tibet region. Eighteen others were killed in avalanches on Mount Everest.

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