Nepal earthquake: Death toll climbs over 2,100, rescue operations continue

Prime Minister Narendra Modi directed immediate dispatch of rescue and relief teams, including medical staff, to the affected areas

The death toll from the devastating earthquake in Nepal climbed over 2,100 on Sunday even as the rescue efforts intensified in search of survivors in the Himalayan nation's worst temblor in over 80 years.

Earlier in the day, a powerful 6.7-magnitude aftershock jolted Nepal and adjoining areas, triggering panic among the people. The massive earthquake and the aftershocks left behind a trail of death and destruction in Nepal's capital Kathmandu.

Thousands of people in Kathmandu spent the last night in the open, anticipating more aftershocks.

According to reports, the number of injured reached 4,627 this morning with around 1,000 people killed in the Kathmandu Valley alone.

The death toll is expected to rise as the search for survivors continues. The rescuers have been hunting for the survivors under heaps of debris.

MI-17 helicopters of the Indian Air Force (IAF) have carried out five casualty evacuation sorties and the injured have been shifted to the military hospitals.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who took stock of the situation at a high-level meeting in New Delhi, directed immediate dispatch of rescue and relief teams, including medical staff, to the affected areas.

Prime Minister Modi has said India is with Nepal during this hour of crisis and grief.

"I can feel what Nepal and its people must be going through since I have seen closely the devastation caused by earthquake in Kutch (Gujarat) on January 26, 2001," Prime Minister Modi said in his 'Mann Ki Baat' radio programme on AIR.

"My dear brothers and sisters of Nepal, India is with you in this hour of grief. ... For 125 crore Indians, Nepal is their own country and India will make all efforts to wipe the tears of every person in Nepal, hold their hands and stand with them," he added.

Prime Minister Modi had earlier yesterday spoke on the phone with President Ram Baran Yadav and Prime Minister Sushil Koirala of Nepal and assured all the help required to the neighbouring nation.