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Rescue Efforts Resume After Second Nepal Earthquake Amid Landslide Fears

2 minute read
By Rishi Iyengar

Rescue operations gradually resumed in Nepal on Wednesday amid periodic aftershocks and fears of landslides, one day after a second major earthquake within three weeks rocked the Himalayan nation.

Thousands of Nepalis spent the night in the open after the fresh temblor on Tuesday afternoon, while several have still not returned home after the larger earthquake on April 25 that ripped through the country and claimed over 8,000 lives.

Tuesday’s earthquake measured 7.3 on the Richter scale against the 7.8 magnitude of the previous one, and left 65 dead and around 2,000 injured, reports the BBC. The epicenter was in Namche Bazaar, a popular town on the route to Mount Everest about 76 km from Nepal’s capital Kathmandu, but its impact was felt as far as India, where 17 people died in the eastern state of Bihar, and Tibet, where one person was killed in a landslide.

Landslides are an increasing possibility in the still volatile mountain region, and the onset of the monsoons in subsequent months only heightens the potential risk.

“It’s not safe here,” Ram Tamang, a resident of Jure village who lost his wife, mother and three children in a landslide last August, told Reuters. “Last night it was raining hard the whole night and I couldn’t sleep. I’m always worried another landslide will come.”

Hundreds of Nepali troops gathered in the country’s northeastern Charikot district, meanwhile, searching for a U.S. Marine helicopter that went missing on Tuesday while delivering aid to a local village. The UH-1Y Huey helicopter had six Marines and two Nepali soldiers on board, and was reportedly heard talking about fuel problems.

“The info we have is that it is down in one of the rivers, but none of the choppers has seen it yet,” Major Rajan Dahal, second in command of the Barda Bahadur Battalion, told Reuters. “There are 400-plus of our ground troops looking for it also,” he said, in addition to the six other helicopters conducting an aerial search. “By this evening, we might get it.”

James Nachtwey's Dispatches from Nepal

Nepal earthquake. Hindu funeral cremation rituals at Pashupatinath Temple on the Bagmati River in Katmandu. by James Nachtwey
Bodies are prepared for cremation during a Hindu ritual at the Pashupatinath Temple in Kathmandu on April 28, 2015, three days after a 7.8 magnitude earthquake devastated Nepal, killing at least 7,000 people and causing untold damage. James Nachtwey for TIME
Nepal earthquake. Hindu funeral cremation rituals at Pashupatinath Temple on the Bagmati River in Katmandu. by James Nachtwey
During funeral rites in Kathmandu on April 28, 2015, women mourn for loved ones killed in the earthquake. James Nachtwey for TIME
Nepal earthquake. Hindu funeral cremation rituals at Pashupatinath Temple on the Bagmati River in Katmandu. by James Nachtwey
A man performs a Hindu cremation ritual at the Pashupatinath Temple in Kathmandu, April 28, 2015. James Nachtwey for TIME
Nepal earthquake. Bhaktapur. A city near Katmandu. People reclaiming their possessions from the wreckage. A man who had been buried and died being pulled out of the wreckage by there Nepali Army rescue team. Sculpture of elephant in ruins of an ancient, sacred temple.by James Nachtwey
A man sorts through the wreckage of destroyed homes in the ancient city of Bhaktapur, near Kathmandu, April 28, 2015. James Nachtwey for TIME
Nepal earthquake. Bhaktapur. A city near Katmandu. People reclaiming their possessions from the wreckage. A man who had been buried and died being pulled out of the wreckage by there Nepali Army rescue team. Sculpture of elephant in ruins of an ancient, sacred temple.by James Nachtwey
Residents search through the debris in Bhaktapur, April 28, 2015. James Nachtwey for TIME
Nepal earthquake. Bhaktapur. A city near Katmandu. People reclaiming their possessions from the wreckage. A man who had been buried and died being pulled out of the wreckage by there Nepali Army rescue team. Sculpture of elephant in ruins of an ancient, sacred temple.by James Nachtwey
A body is found in the wreckage in Bhaktapur, April 29, 2015. James Nachtwey for TIME
Nepal earthquake. Bhaktapur. A city near Katmandu. People reclaiming their possessions from the wreckage. A man who had been buried and died being pulled out of the wreckage by there Nepali Army rescue team. Sculpture of elephant in ruins of an ancient, sacred temple.by James Nachtwey
Nepal's 7.8 magnitude earthquake has caused massive destruction of historical temples and palaces like this ancient and sacred site in Bhaktapur, April 29, 2015. James Nachtwey for TIME
Nepal earthquake. Town of Sankhu. Mush of town was destroyed. People digging out their possessions. Aerial images of Nuwakot district, hit by the earthquake and not able to be reached by aid and rescue teams. Farming villages built atop steep hillsides with cascading, terraced fields.by James Nachtwey
Destroyed farming villages are seen from a helicopter during an Indian Army relief mission to Nepal’s remote Nuwakot District, April 30, 2015.James Nachtwey for TIME
Nepal earthquake. Small village in foothills with people gathering near helipad to watch Nepal Army helicopter land with supplies. Cremation pyres in Katmandu at Pashupatinath Temple on Bagmati River.by James Nachtwey
After being airlifted from a remote village to Kathmandu, an injured woman is carried to receive care, April 30, 2015. James Nachtwey for TIME
Nepal earthquake. Town of Sankhu. Mush of town was destroyed. People digging out their possessions. Aerial images of Nuwakot district, hit by the earthquake and not able to be reached by aid and rescue teams. Farming villages built atop steep hillsides with cascading, terraced fields.by James Nachtwey
Villagers sort through rubble in Sankhu, on the outskirts of Kathmandu, May 1, 2015.James Nachtwey for TIME
Nepal earthquake. Town of Sankhu. Mush of town was destroyed. People digging out their possessions. by James Nachtwey
Residents look through wreckage in the town of Sankhu, which was largely destroyed in the earthquake, May 1, 2015. James Nachtwey for TIME
Nepal earthquake. Town of Sankhu. Mush of town was destroyed. People digging out their possessions. by James Nachtwey
A shadow is reflected on the remains of a collapsed house in the largely destroyed village of Sankhu on the outskirts of Katmandu, May 1, 2015. James Nachtwey for TIME

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Write to Rishi Iyengar at rishi.iyengar@timeasia.com