Bad weather disrupts links with avalanche-hit Nepal village
KATHMANDU (Reuters) - Bad weather has cut links with a remote village in Nepal where dozens of villagers and trekkers are believed to be buried under an avalanche set off by last month's devastating earthquake, officials said on Tuesday.
The death toll from the April 25 quake in the Himalayan nation has reached 7,566, and over 14,500 people were injured, the government said.
About 100 bodies were recovered on Saturday and Sunday at Langtang village, 60 km (37 miles) north of Kathmandu, which is on a trekking route popular with Westerners.
The entire village, which includes 55 guesthouses for trekkers, was wiped out by the avalanche and rescuers are digging in the snow for signs of about 120 others believed buried.
Gautam Rimal, assistant chief district officer in the area where Langtang is located, said authorities had not made contact with Langtang for more 24 hours because of bad weather.
The dead include at least seven foreigners, but only two had been identified, he said.
Meanwhile, a row has broken out between Nepal and some international agencies over the handling of aid that poured into the country after the earthquake, with each side blaming the other for confusion and delays in getting help to victims.
Frustrated by the lack of coordination, some donors are circumventing the authorities and sending supplies directly through non-governmental organisations for distribution, said an aide to Prime Minister Sushil Koirala.
"There are differences between the government and some donors over this," the aide said.
The government has begun asking foreign teams to wrap up search and rescue operations as hopes of finding people alive in the rubble receded.
"They can leave. If they are also specialists in clearingthe rubble, they can stay," Rameshwor Dangal, an official at Nepal's home ministry, told Reuters on Monday.
