KATHMANDU: Three people were pulled alive from the rubble of their home eight days after Nepal’s devastating earthquake, as a supply logjam threatened to hamper relief efforts bolstered by the arrival of US aircraft and troops.

The small-scale rescue, announced on Sunday by a home ministry official, brought fresh hope to a badly-hit district northeast of the capital Kathmandu, but about 50 bodies were also discovered on a northern trekking route obliterated by an avalanche triggered by the April 25 quake.

That increased the death toll to 7,059, and the figure was likely to rise further as an entire village was carried away by the same avalanche and scores more people — both locals and foreign trekkers — were missing, officials said.

Ganga Sagar Pant, the head of the Trekking Agencies Association of Nepal, said the avalanche had wiped out the village of Langtang.

“All that is left is scattered belongings like bags and coats; all the houses have been thrown down the mountain,” he said. “There is nothing left. I don’t think anyone can survive that.”

The village in the northern district of Rasuwa was on a popular trekking route and had 55 guesthouses. It was not clear how many people were there at the time of the avalanche.

None of the recovered bodies has been identified, said Pravin Pokharel, deputy district superintendent of police.
Pokharel, who led the police team, said the bodies were pulled out from under snow and ice on Saturday and rescuers were to return to the remote area on Sunday.

At least 200 villagers and trekkers were still missing in Langtang, said Uddhav Bhattarai, the district’s senior bureaucrat.

“We had not been able to reach the area earlier because of rains and cloudy weather,” he said by telephone.

The US military contingent arriving here comprised eight aircraft, including one Huey and two C-130s, and between 100 and 120 personnel, US Marines spokeswoman Captain Cassandra Gesecki said.

The Huey was expected to leave on an assessment mission early on Monday, and it was up to the US Agency for International Development when the other aircraft would be deployed. “They’re the ones telling us what to take and where,” she said.

US Marine Corps Brigadier General Paul Kennedy warned about the supply bottlenecks, saying: “What you don’t want to do is build up a mountain of supplies” that block space for planes or more aid.

On Sunday, the government restricted the landing of large cargo aircraft at the airport to limit damage to the stressed runway, said a UN official.

Another UN official said all relief material should get a blanket exemption from checks on arrival. “They should not be using peacetime customs methodology,” he said.

Published in Dawn, May 4th, 2015

On a mobile phone? Get the Dawn Mobile App: Apple Store | Google Play