21 Chinese among quake fatalities: reports
At least 21 Chinese have died in Nepal and Tibet, with dozens more missing, following an earthquake that struck outside Kathmandu on Saturday, according to reports.
More than 600 Chinese tourists were trapped in Nepal, Xinhua reported. Fourteen flights between China and the Himalayan nation were scheduled for Sunday, including three carrying relief materials.
China Southern Airlines is sending an extra aircraft to pick up tourists, at the request of the embassy in Kathmandu.
Four of the Chinese deaths were in Nepal and the remaining 17 were in Tibet, state-run China News Service reported. Many more people were missing or injured following the magnitude 7.8 earthquake, it said.
Cheng Wen, a senior embassy official, told state-run broadcaster CCTV the deaths in Nepal were two construction workers in Pokhara, and a tourist and a climber at Mount Everest, where the quake triggered a huge avalanche.
In Tibet, four people were missing and 55 injured, Xinhua reported. More than 1,100 buildings and a temple were destroyed or heavily damaged. Rescuers had evacuated 12,000 people by the morning.
As of 10am, 683 Chinese tourists were stranded in Nepal, Xinhua said. That included 52 tour groups and various individual travellers, according to the China National Tourism Administration.
A member of the Chinese Mountaineering Association said 40 nationals were climbing in Nepal when the quake hit and suffered injuries, according to the Tibetan government’s website.
A team of five women climbers were in the area at the time. A phone number listed on the team’s Facebook page was not in service. But The Beijing News quoted team member Han Zijun as saying all four were injured and the team leader had suffered fractures.
A photograph of one climber was uploaded to Facebook about 20 minutes before the quake hit. They were from Hong Kong, Xinjiang, Sichuan, Yunnan and Shanghai, and all were experienced climbers, the team page said. They arrived in Kathmandu on April 10 to prepare for their hike towards Mount Everest, according to National Geographic magazine which reported on the expedition.
In Tibet, the quake toppled 1,191 houses, damaged roads and cut off telecommunications in two counties in Xigaze prefecture which hugs the border.
Fifty-four temples were badly damaged, although no casualties have been reported so far, Xinhua reported.
Rescuers are trying to reach affected areas, but their efforts are hampered by landslides clogging the road to Nyalam county in Xigaze as well as snow and rain.
“Aftershocks are what worry us most at the moment, for there is nowhere to hide,” said Gyanga Tseten, the head of a Xigaze fire brigade detachment and who is leading a 30-member team to Zham, a mountain pass leading to Nepal, according to Xinhua.
Aftershocks continued to hit the region – one measuring 5.9-magnitude in Xigaze at 5.17pm on Saturday, and another registering 5.3 in Nyalam at 1.42pm on Sunday, according to the China Earthquake Networks Centre.
