Over 2,300 people killed in Nepal earthquake

The death toll from Nepal’s massive earthquake has surpassed 2,300 in the Himalayan country and neighboring nations as the rescue operations continue in the region.

Home Ministry spokesman, Laxmi Prasad Dhakal, said the number known to have died in Nepal had risen to 2,263 while 5,838 people had been injured.

This is while officials in India said the toll there now stood at 60, while Chinese state media said 17 people had been killed in the Tibet region.

In addition, at least 17 people perished in an avalanche on Nepal’s Mount Everest, which was triggered by the quake.

Meanwhile, the US Geological Survey said a 6.7-magnitude aftershock hit an area northeast of the capital on Sunday, with climbers on Mount Everest reporting that the new tremor triggered more avalanches.

The Saturday quake destroyed large parts of the oldest neighborhoods in Nepal’s capital, Kathmandu and the quake was also felt across India, Bangladesh, China’s region of Tibet and Pakistan.

The magnitude 7.8 quake, with its epicenter outside Kahtmandu, was the worst to hit the nation in over 80 years.