Nepal earthquake: despair turns to anger

Around 200 people were reported to have blocked traffic, chanted anti-government slogans and called for immediate help for victims of the 7.8 magnitude earthquake that has claimed more than 5,000 lives.

People were also said to be angry after special bus services promised by the government to transport them out of the Nepalese capital failed to materialise.

Police said there were minor scuffles between protesters and officers, but no arrests.

It is not only in the capital where tensions are running high in the wake of the Nepalese catastrophe. Rescue workers have reported that fights have been breaking out between hundreds of tourists and locals in the remote Langtang village in Rasuwa district, a popular trekking area.

The fighting was said to be fuelled by a lack of food, with villagers accusing tourists of taking too much, a member of an Israeli search and rescue team said.

Nepal’s government has admitted there have been failures in its response to the earthquake. Many Nepalis remain in makeshift tents for a fourth night since the earthquake hit.

“This is a disaster on an unprecedented scale, Nepal’s Communication Minister Minendra Rijal said late on Tuesday.

“There have been some weaknesses in managing the relief operation, We will improve this from Wednesday.”

With hospitals in Kathmandu overflowing, the government has appealed for specialist doctors from overseas. Rescue helicopters continue to struggle to access remote parts of the country and, though the confirmed death toll currently stands at 5,006, it is expected that the figure will be much higher when information from these regions arrives.

Nepal’s prime minister has warned that the death toll could reach as high as 10,000.

In Laprak, in the worst hit region Gorkha, a health official estimated that 1,600 out of 1,700 homes had been razed. In Sindhupalchowk, three-and-a-half hours northeast of Kathmandu by road, the earthquake was followed by landslides, killing 1,206 people and seriously injuring close to 400.

In other remote areas where rescue helicopters were unable to land, soldiers had started to make their way overland, first by bus, then by foot.