Rescue efforts for earthquake victims in Nepal were hampered in many areas on Thursday due to torrential rain, even as Government officials feared that the toll may rise to over 15,000.
The number of people killed in Saturday’s 7.8-magnitude earthquake and the following aftershocks, has reached 5,489, said Govardan Karki, an official at the National Emergency Operation Centre. Road accessibility has been a major problem in relief work, with most roads to villages badly damaged from landslides and cracks. Aftershocks also continued until Wednesday night, although thefrequency and magnitude were much smaller, said lokbijay Adhikari, head of the National Seismological Centre.