KUWAIT, April 26 (KUNA) -- Rescuers in Nepal on Sunday continued search for survivors or dead bodies following Saturday's fierce earthquake that inflicted wide-scale destruction across the nation.
According to the CNN, monitored in Kuwait, the rescue crews and residents in Nepal early Sunday continued the desperate search for survivors after the magnitude-7.8 quake near the capital of Kathmandu flattened homes, buildings and temples, causing widespread damage across the region and killing more than 1,800 people.
Whole streets and squares in the capital of more than one million people were covered in rubble. Stunned residents stared at temples that were once part of their daily lives and now were reduced to nothing. Locals and tourists ferreted through mounds of debris in search of survivors. Cheers rose from the piles when people were found alive -- but mostly bodies turned up. The injured ended up being treated outside overflowing hospitals, where crowds of people gathered looking for relatives. Dozens of bodies were pulled from the historic nine-story Dharahara tower that came crashing down during the quake. At least 17 people were reported killed on Mount Everest, where the quake caused multiple avalanches. The death toll of 1,832 is expected to rise as the full extent of the damage is assessed, the CNN reported. The loss of life reported so far "is really based on the information we have from the main cities," Lex Kassenberg, Nepal country director for CARE International, told CNN. "But if you look at the spread of the earthquake a lot of the rural areas have been hit as well. The information we received from the field is that 80% of the houses in these rural areas have been destroyed." The quake was the strongest in the region in more than 80 years. Residents are used to earthquakes in Nepal, and many thought the start of Saturday's quake was a tremor, until the earth kept shaking and buildings crashed down.
The quake struck at 11:56 a.m. local time and was centered less than 50 miles northwest of Kathmandu. It occurred at a depth of 9.3 miles, which is considered shallow and more damaging than a deeper quake. Kathmandu is situated in a valley surrounded by the Himalayas. (end) rk