Nepal quake toll rises to nearly 5,300

The toll in the massive earthquake that devastated Nepal on April 25 rose to nearly 5,300 on Wednesday, with Sindhupalchok being the worst affected district with 1,587 deaths, the government said.

The ministry of home affairs put the number of deaths at 5,266, while around 7,390 injured were receiving treatment in several hospitals in Kathmandu and outside.

Sindhupalchok topped the list of the worst hit places with 1,587 deaths, followed by the Kathmandu Valley with 1,521.

Earlier in the day, the National Emergency Operation Centre - which operates under the home ministry - said 10,224 were injured in the 7.9-magnitude quake and its aftershocks.

A joint rescue team of the Nepalese Army, the Armed Police Force and Nepal Police rescued 1,600 tourists from Manang and Mustang and brought them to Pokhara.

Ten tourists from various countries were killed in the earthquake. Four died in Kathmandu, five in Solukhumbu, and one in Makawanpur districts.

The government said rescue operations were on in full swing in Sindhupalchok, Kathmandu, Nuwakot, Dhading, Bhaktapur, Lalitpur, Kavrepalanchowk, Gorkha and Rasuwa.

Rescue teams from India, Sri Lanka, China, Turkey, the Netherlands, Poland, Germany, France, Israel, Malaysia and Japan have been deployed in various places of the Kathmandu Valley.

A rescue team from Britain has been deployed in Sindhupalchowk district, while nine foreign medical teams are working in various affected areas.

According to the home ministry, the Sri Lankan team rescued a youth alive from Balaju area.