Nepal quake relief drive intensifies

Risingbd Desk: Nepal ramped up efforts on Sunday to rescue people trapped in the rubble of collapsed buildings after more than 1,900 people were killed in the country`s worst earthquake in more than 80 years.

The earthquake devastated the heavily crowded Kathmandu valley and triggered a deadly avalanche on Mount Everest, Reuters reported.

Many countries and international charities have offered aid to Nepal to deal with the disaster, officials said.

The government planned to pitch tents and turn schools and other public buildings into shelters, said Rameshwor Dangal, a home ministry official. It would also re-open roads and send helicopters to rescue people.

Nepal`s home ministry put the death toll at 1,805, with about 4,700 injured. At least 300 had been killed in the capital, a city of about 1 million people where homes are often old, flimsy and packed close together.

Rescue workers worked through the night using bulldozers, pick axes and shovels to free those who were trapped.

Foreign climbers and their Nepalese guides around Mount Everest were caught by the tremors and a huge avalanche.

Agencies

risingbd/Apr 26, 2015/Aminul