Relief teams in Nepal have warned that aid could take as long as five days to reach those in need. While one survivor was pulled from rubble in Kathmandu, heavy rains have prevented supplies from reaching remote areas.
Image: picture-alliance/dpaW. Oliver
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Glimmers of hope among Nepal earthquake debris
Rescue workers have been able to provide a moment of joy from within the destruction, after freeing a teenager five days after a huge earthquake devastated Nepal. Aid, however, is still being restricted by the weather.
Image: AFP/Getty Images/R. Schmidt
Rescued after five days
As hopes of finding survivors began to fade, there were scenes of celebration in Kathmandu on Thursday. After hours of dangerous work by rescuers, 15-year-old Pemba Tamang was pulled out from beneath the rubble of Kathmandu's collapsed Hilton hotel, five days after the earthquake struck in Nepal's capital.
Image: Reuters/A. Abidi
Rescue celebrations
Members of the Nepalese Armed Police Force carried their officer in celebration after successfully rescuing the teenage earthquake survivor. Police officer L. B. Basnet had pulled the boy out of the debris after crawling into an opening wearing a headlamp. "He thanked me when I first approached him ... He was really responsive," Basnet said.
Image: Reuters/N, Chitrakar
Treacherous weather
Efforts to take aid to the worst-hit areas in Nepal's countryside have been hindered, however, by torrential rain. Even helicopters have been left unable to access the remote regions. Relief teams have warned that it could take as long as five days to reach those still in need.
Image: AFP/Getty Images/S. Hussain
Neighborhoods evacuated
Like thousands of others, the Gautam family from Lagan, Kathmandu, have been moved to a relief camp. Their entire neighborhood was struck by the natural disaster. The United Nations estimates that over 5,000 people have died and some 8 million have been affected by what was Nepal's worst quake in 81 years.
Image: DW/A.Singh Choudary
Patience wearing thin
Nepal's government has come under fire for the speed at which aid is reaching those affected. Government officials have admitted that they have failed "to meet the expectations of the needy people." Protests broke out near government buildings in the capital after the government failed to provide enough buses to transport families back to their villages.
Image: Reuters/N. Chitrakar
Widespread impact
The death toll currently stands at over 5,000. More than 10,000 people are known to have been injured. The epicenter of the 7.8-magnitude quake was about 80 kilometers (50 miles) west of Kathmandu and occurred at a shallow depth - worsening the impact. At least 30 of the country's 75 districts were affected, with initial estimates pegging that economic damage at billions of dollars.
Image: Reuters/IFRC/Palani Mohan
World Heritage Sites destroyed
The Kathmandu Valley was shattered by the 7.8-magnitude quake. The cultural and spiritual heart of Nepal was home to seven UNESCO World Heritage sites. Among them was the Buddhist monastery and shrines of Swayambhunath Stupa, pictured above.
Image: Reuters/N. Chitrakar
Mt. Everest to reopen next week
Nepal's Tourism Ministry announced that climbing on Mount Everest will reopen as early as next week. An avalanche caused by the earthquake on Saturday killed 18 climbers and Sherpa mountain guides and injured more than 60. Neighboring China, however, has announced that it has closed the climbing season for the north face of Everest and all other mountains in Tibet.
Image: AFP/Getty Images/R. Schmidt
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Even as hopes of finding survivors continued to dwindle Thursday and torrential rain prevented helicopters from flying to the worst-hit areas in the countryside of the impoverished Himalayan nation, one survivor was pulled out from beneath the rubble of a collapsed building in Kathmandu.
A spokesman for Nepal's Interior Ministry confirmed that a 15-year-old boy had been rescued five days after the earthquake struck, but also warned that weather conditions made it increasingly difficult to find survivors.
"There may not be any more survivors," Rameshwor Dandal, chief of the disaster management center at Nepal's Interior Ministry said. "The rain is adding to the problems. Nature seems to be against us."
According to Nepalese officials, the death toll has risen to over 5,800, with more than 10,000 people also known to have been injured in Saturday's 7.8-magnitude earthquake.
Road accessibility has been a major problem for relief work, with most roads to villages badly damaged from landslides and cracks.
'Logistical challenges'
In its latest situation report, the United Nations (UN) also said that search-and-rescue (SAR) operations were still limited outside of the Kathmandu Valley.
"Some villages can only be reached by foot with some areas taking up to four to five days to reach. Fuel to transport SAR teams is limited," the report said.
Nepal's resident coordinator for the intergovernmental organization, Jamie McGoldrick, also said that the UN's $415 million (374 million euro) appeal for survivors faced "significant logistical challenges."
Riots in Kathmandu
Patience among survivors of the earthquake reached breaking point Wednesday, and riots broke out near government buildings in Kathmandu.
Long queues of people attempting to board government-organized buses in the hope of seeing the damage back in their families' villages were left angered after only a fraction of the buses arrived.
Some of the protesters forced a truck carrying drinking water off the road and climbed on top of it, throwing the bottles to people surrounding the vehicle.
The government has already acknowledged it had been overwhelmed by the devastation from the quake.
"The disaster has been so huge and unprecedented that we have not been in a position to meet the expectations of the needy people. But we are ready to accept our weakness, learn and move ahead in the best way possible," Communications Minister Minendra Rijal told Nepal's Kantipur Television on Wednesday.
