Toll in fresh Nepal quake at 79; total over 8,200

Kathmandu, May 13: Eighteen more bodies were found on Wednesday, taking the toll from Tuesday's earthquake in Nepal to 79, the government said. The toll since the devastating April 25 temblor has now risen to over 8,200.

Home ministry spokesperson Laxmi Prasad Dhakal said 36 bodies were found in Dolakha, followed by 12 in Sindhupalchok and five in Kathmandu.

He said the government has expedited search and rescue operations, relief distribution and collecting details of the injured and missing people in quake-affected areas.

Heavy equipment was used to clear blocked roads and resume food supply and logistics.

Security personnel from all departments -- Nepal Army, Armed Police Force and Nepal Police -- as well as civil servants were working hard to supply food in the worst affected districts of Sindhupalchok, Dolakha, Ramechhap and Rasuwa.

In a press statement, the home ministry said till date, the government has sent 1,09,401 quintals of rice, 785.5 quintals of suger, 989 quintals of salt, 2,13,273 cartons of noodles, and 3,106 quintals of beaten rice.

Besides these food items, the government has distributed 4,89,566 tents and tarpaulin, 915 mattresses and 3,529 solar panels.

Earlier in the day, the home ministry's National Emergency Operation Centre said that as many as 1,926 people sustained injuries in the May 12 quake which measured 7.3 on the Richter scale.

Geologists described the May 12 temblor as an aftershock of the 7.9-magnitude earthquake that jolted Nepal on April 25.

As many as 8,151 have died in the April 25 quake and 17,866 people were injured.

According to Rasuwa chief district officer Prem Lal Adhikari, the fresh tremors on Tuesday brought down the houses in Dolakha which were spared by last month's earthquake.

IANS