Nepal death toll rises to 6,200 as Red Cross warns of ‘total devastation’

Rescue efforts are continuing in Nepal with further aid arriving from Britain as authorities confirm the death toll from the disaster has risen to more than 6,200 people. The National Emergency Operations Centre said 6,204 people have been confirmed dead from the worst earthquake to strike the country in 80 years. A further 13,932 people were injured in Saturday’s 7.8-magnitude quake. Three Royal Air Force CH47 Chinook helicopters will travel from RAF Brize Norton to Nepal over the next few days. The UK will also contribute £2.5m to the UN’s Humanitarian Air Service to increase helicopter capacity and allow aid supplies to reach isolated areas.

One of our teams that returned from Chautara in Sindupalchowk district reported that 90% of the homes are destroyed.

Jagan Chapagain, Asia Pacific director with the International Federation of Red Cross

The ongoing relief effort comes as concerns are raised about residents in towns and villages across the worst-affected districts of Nepal. The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies said some communities have suffered almost total devastation. One British dual national killed in the disaster has been named as Hemchandra Rai, a 42-year-old married father-of-three who lived in Hong Kong. More than 100 Britons who were left stranded in Nepal have now arrived home. Earlier a woman was pulled alive from the rubble five days after the devastating earthquake struck. Emergency workers took 10 hours to clear wreckage and get the woman - named as Krishna Kumari Khadka - to safety. Reports of the rescue emerged hours after a 15-year-old boy was freed from a collapsed hotel in Kathmandu, as hopes of finding survivors had begun to fade.

This is a disaster on an unprecedented scale. There have been some weaknesses in managing the relief operation.

Rameshwor Dandal, chief of the disaster management

World Quake survivors