Panic as three more tremors hit Nepal

Three fresh tremors jolted Nepal yesterday, triggering panic among the people already battered by the devastating earthquake and over 150 aftershocks as the death toll crossed 8,000.

Massive landslide and avalanche also forced suspension of rescue works in the popular trekking area of Langtang, where Nepal Army's rescue team has taken out 90 dead bodies, including nine foreigners, so far.

According to some media reports, as many as 120 bodies have been pulled out and rescuers who were searching for bodies have moved to safe places.

Lieutenant Colonel Anup Jung Thapa said the rescue works was disrupted due to huge piles of frequent avalanche in and around the area.

Meanwhile, three tremors jolted the Himalayan nation yesterday, bringing the total number of aftershocks with 4 or more magnitude on the Richter Scale to over 156.

A 4.2-magnitude tremor was recorded at 1.50am with its epicentre at Sindhupalchowk district, 100 km east of Kathmandu, one of the worst-affected districts.

Another 4-magnitude tremor was recorded at 2.44am with epicentre at Udaypur district.

Nepalese women sell garlands of flowers and vegetables near a temple in the historical centre of Kathmandu, yesterday. Photo: AFP

The third tremor was of 44-magnitude which struck at 6.34am with epicentre at Sindhupalchowk/Tibet, according to the National Seismological Centre, Kathmandu.

No damage due to the tremors was reported so far.

However, they sent a fresh wave of fear and panic among the people who have been forced to stay in open spaces for the past two weeks.

Also, the death toll from the April 25 temblor, the country's worst in over 80 years, reached 8,019 while the number of injured stands at 16,033, according to Nepal Police.

Meanwhile, Nepal's government yesterday said it has denied entry to three British military helicopters sent to help the earthquake relief effort because of fears they could damage buildings when landing.

A foreign ministry spokesman said the Chinook helicopters, which arrived in New Delhi last week en route to the quake-hit country, were too big to land.

Certain pockets of Kathmandu are returning back to normal after days of turmoil in the aftermath of the April 25th earthquake that struck Nepal killing over 8,000 people and leaving tens of thousands homeless. Photo: AFP

"We have told the British authorities that they cannot fly their Chinook helicopters here because our technical team says they are likely to damage the houses and other buildings in the Kathmandu valley," spokesman Tara Pokharel told AFP.

Getting relief to the worst-hit villages is a huge challenge because many are in remote mountainous terrain that is only accessible by helicopter or on foot.