Nepal's Home Ministry on Sunday said that the death toll from the April 25 earthquake that struck the Kathmandu Valley and the Pokhra region has crossed the 7000 mark.
In a statement released here, the home ministry said that the number of dead is currently 7,040, including 54 foreigners, while the injury toll is over 14,000 people.
It also said that scores of other people are still missing.
The statement from the ministry came even as multi-nation relief and rescue operations continue on war footing in the debris-ridden Kathmandu Valley.
Fresh tremors rocked parts of Nepal on Saturday, triggering landslides in some areas. A 5.1-magnitude aftershock shook Barpak village in Gorkha District near the epicentre of last Saturday's powerful temblor that caused widespread destruction. Another 4.5-magnitude aftershock led to landslides and triggered panic among the people many of whom are still living in the open. A major landslide was reported at Dolalghat in Kathmandu. No injuries have been reported, so far.
Meanwhile, relief is reaching Nepal's remote towns and villages. The Indian Air force has pressed into service several helicopters to drop off relief materials in the quake-hit areas. Air Vice Marshal Upkaarjeet Singh, the IAF commander for the relief operations, was quoted, as saying that in Kathmandu IAF pilots have evacuated more than 1,500 people and brought another 600 injured to different medical centres.
The NDRF medical teams consisting of doctors and paramedics staff are also engaged in carrying out health check-up and distributed medicines.
Even though power supply and communication services have been restored in the Kathmandu Valley, many areas are still deprived of necessary food items, which compelled people to resort to sloganeering against the authorities. People took to the streets alleging that relief material was finding its way to the black market and prices of essential items had also been steeply hiked.
United Nation's Humanitarian Chief Valerie Amos was quoted, as saying on Saturday that she was extremely concerned about customs authorities in Nepal slowing down the process for the delivery of quake-related aid, and called on Prime Minister Sushil Koirala to resolve this without delay.
