Indian plane brings back survivors from quake-hit Nepal

A fresh batch of survivors evacuated from earthquake-hit Nepal arrived in New Delhi in an Air India plane on Sunday.

Following the earthquake in Nepal, Air India has been operating additional flights to bring back stranded Indians and people of other nationalities as well.

The 7.9-magnitude quake struck Nepal at midday on Saturday at a busy time of year for the tourism-reliant country’s trekking and climbing season, with an estimated 300,000 foreign tourists in the country.

Rescuers dug with their bare hands and bodies piled up in Nepal on Sunday after an earthquake devastated the heavily crowded Kathmandu Valley, killing more than 3,200 people, and triggered a deadly avalanche on Mount Everest.

On Sunday, the tremor, measured at 6.7, was the most powerful since Saturday’s 7.9 quake — itself the strongest since Nepal’s worst earthquake disaster of 1934 that killed 8,500 people.

The aftershock rocked buildings in New Delhi and halted the city metro.

India has launched massive rescue operation with Indian Air Force plane carrying relief to Nepal.

A rescued Indian from Nepal said on Sunday that he saw the destruction very closely.

“There was heavy destruction. We were at the bus at that time. We were inside the bus, the bus was shaking. Our bus driver got down and we came to know it was earthquake. All of us came (got) down the bus and sat at one place. We could see buildings collapsing, roads got damaged. It was horrible experience,” said survivor.

In wee hours of Sunday around 377 more Indians had arrived in New Delhi in two air force aircraft from earthquake-hit Nepal and said they saw death from close quarters.

Meanwhile, India’s Interior Minister Rajnath Singh said that India will lend all help to Nepal at this time of crisis.

Singh said the government was considering launching bus service from Indian states of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, closer to Nepal, to help evacuate people and tourists.

“I spoke to chief ministers of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar where heavy damage has occurred. We all came to this decision that we would press bus service to Nepal to evacuate people and tourists stranded in the remotes areas and bring them back,” said Singh.

The quake was more destructive for being shallow, toppling buildings, opening gaping cracks in roads and sending people scurrying into the open as aftershocks rattled their damaged homes.

Thousands spent the night outside, setting up makeshift tents, sitting around campfires and eating food provided by volunteers.

Nepal, sandwiched between India and China, has had its share of natural disasters. Its worst earthquake in 1934 killed more than 8,500 people.