Kathmandu: Racing against time, rescuers on Sunday waded through tonnes of rubble of flattened homes and buildings in Nepal to look for survivors of the earthquake that has killed over 2,500 people, including five Indians, and left more than 6,000 others injured.
Fresh powerful aftershocks today triggered panic among the stricken people and caused avalanches on Mt Everest which had yesterday taken a toll of 22 lives.
Read: Survivors recount nightmare of shaking buildings, devastation
A strong 6.7-magnitude aftershock followed by another measuring 6.5 on the Richter Scale, sent people scrambling for open spaces.
The 7.9-magnitude temblor yesterday left a trail of devastation and suffering, with people spending the cold night in the open because of fears of fresh quake.
According to the latest figures available with the Kathmandu-based National Emergency Operation Centre, the death toll in Nepal stood at 2,430 with over 6,000 people injured.
1,053 people are reported killed in the Kathmandu Valley alone. Officials fear the death toll could rise as desperate search for survivors continued.
Read: Nepal: This was among the world's strongest earthquakes since 1900
Mass cremations were held here as the death toll continued to climb throughout the day.
International rescue teams, including from India, have arrived here as Nepal declared a state of emergency in the wake of the disaster, the worst in over 80 years of the country's recorded history.
India has mounted a major rescue and rehabilitation effort, deploying 13 military aircraft which carried medicines, field hospitals, blankets, 50 tonnes of water and other materials.
Read: 7.9-magnitude quake robs Nepal of its architectural jewels
More than 700 disaster relief experts drawn from the National Disaster Relief Force have been deployed by India. A senior-level inter-ministerial team will visit Nepal to assess how India can better assist in the relief operations.
Read: Scientists fear bigger quake in future
Rescuers have been hunting for survivors under heaps of debris with bare hands as well as heavy equipment though the efforts have been hampered due to fresh tremors, thunderstorms and snowfall in the mountain ranges.
Officials here said five Indians, including the daughter of an Indian embassy employee, were among those killed in the quake.
Locals and tourists sifted through mounds of debris for survivors. Cheers rose when people were found alive, though mostly bodies were pulled out.
Like many other areas of Nepal, Kathmandu is facing a colossal challenge of dealing with the devastation from the disaster.
