by Susan Kumar and Biodun Iginla, Reuters contributors and BBC News
1 hour ago
1 hour ago
The Latest on Nepal: Quake death toll climbs past 7,000
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7:15 a.m. (0130 GMT)
Officials in Nepal say the death toll from last weekend's massive earthquake has climbed past 7,000.
National
police officer Babu Kanji Giri said Sunday that the death toll had
reached 7,040 as more bodies are found in the debris.
The Home Ministry said that 14,123 people were injured in the April 25 quake. Of them, 6,512 are being treated in hospitals.
- Binaj Gurubacharya, Kathmandu, Nepal.
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9:30 p.m. (1545 GMT)
Nepal's
Home Ministry official Laxmi Dhakal says hopes of finding any more
survivors are fading away as more than a week has passed since the
massive earthquake.
He says: "Unless they were caught in an air pocket, there is not much possibility."
Two survivors - a 15-year-old boy and a woman in her 20s - were rescued from the rubble on Thursday.
- Binaj Gurubacharya, Kathmandu, Nepal.
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9 p.m. (1515 GMT)
Dozens
of Nepalese have gathered in central Kathmandu's Maitighar Mandala Park
to recite a prayer and light candles for those who perished in the
earthquake.
A woman cried, a boy said a prayer
and others placed candles on the ground to form a map of Nepal, wishing
that victims can be united to overcome their grief.
Nila Shrestha, a 31-year-old Kathmandu resident, appealed to the world to continue sending aid to Nepal.
- Koji Ueda, Kathmandu, Nepal
---
6:10 p.m. (1225 GMT)
Nepal
police say the death toll from last week's magnitude-7.8 earthquake has
climbed to 6,841, as more reports come in from remote areas and rescue
workers dig out more bodies from under the rubble.
More than 14,000 people have been reported injured.
- Binaj Gurubacharya, Kathmandu, Nepal.
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5:50 p.m. (1205 GMT)
In
Kathmandu, hundreds of volunteers have turned out to help those who
have been left homeless by the magnitude-7.8 quake a week ago.
They
have collected clothes, medicines, packaged food and money and are
distributing it at the Bhrikutimandap, an exhibition ground in the city.
Doctors,
engineers, business executives and office workers folded donated
clothes and packed medicines to be sent across neighborhoods.
"We
are gathering whatever we can. Our priority is providing medicines and
clean drinking water and warn people about the possibility of spread of
disease," said a visibly exhausted Srijana Jyoti, a businesswoman.
Jyoti said they have been shipping out water storage tanks to those in need.
"Water
is the essential and we are trying to get them access to clean drinking
water," she said, adding they are printing banners in the local
language telling what precautions to take to avoid getting sick.
- Binaj Gurubacharya, Kathmandu, Nepal.
---
5 p.m. (1130 GMT)
UNICEF
says the health and well-being of children affected by the earthquake
are hanging in the balance - many are homeless, in deep shock and with
no access to basic care.
There is also worry about the monsoon season and the risk of diseases like cholera and diarrheal infections.
With
about 40 percent of children stunted in Nepal, UNICEF is raising alarm
about the effect of the earthquake on their nutrition. It says that at
least 15,000 children with severe acute malnutrition require therapeutic
feeding.
There is also an urgent need for
children in the 12 most affected districts to get back to their normal
routine by setting up child-friendly spaces, opening schools and
providing access to basic services, such as health and water.
---
1:15 p.m. (0730 GMT)
A
week after a massive earthquake shook Nepal, angry villagers in some
parts of central Sindhupalchok district say they're still waiting for
aid to reach them.
In Pauwathok, three trucks
sped by without stopping Saturday. One of the trucks had police with
automatic weapons, escorting the two others, which were covered by
tarps.
"What about us?" screamed the
villagers. But the trucks sped off without halting. Of the 85 homes in
Pauwathok, all but a handful were destroyed in the magnitude-78 quake
that struck April 25.
"Nobody has come here to help us. No government, no police, no aid," said 71-year-old Badri Giri.
The
villagers said they were barely eating once a day, surviving with
whatever they could forage from the debris of their collapsed homes.
"We have no homes, no place to live anymore. We are sleeping outside," Giri said.
- Todd Pitman, Pauwathok, Nepal
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