The death toll from Nepal’s devastating earthquake rose steadily past 6,200. Reports say parts of the country continued to experience aftershocks on Friday.
Disposal of the hundreds of bodies still being found six days after the 7.9 magnitude quake devastated the Himalayan nation of 28 million people was becoming a problem for officials, who have ordered immediate cremations.
Thousands of villages have been devastated, with up to 90% of clinics and schools in some districts rendered unusable.
“Morgues are full beyond capacity and we have been given instruction to incinerate bodies immediately after they are pulled out,” said Raman Lal, an Indian paramilitary force official working in coordination with Nepal forces who was quoted by Reuters.
Aid was slowly beginning to reach remote towns and villages nestled in the mountains and foothills but the overpowering smell of bodies trapped beneath the rubble of collapsed buildings in the capital was making it hard for residents to return to their homes.
Hundreds of thousands of people made homeless in Nepal by the quake, which registered 7.8 magnitude, are yet to receive aid because of logistic bottlenecks, poor infrastructure and a chaotic government response.
Emergency teams have mainly been pulling bodies from the rubble, a task made all the more perilous by more than 70 aftershocks, the strongest measuring 6.9 magnitude, the Indian meteorological department in Delhi said.
Rain has left many people with the dilemma of risking a return to damaged homes which could collapse in an aftershock or sleeping in tents or other temporary shelters.
Large numbers have left Kathmandu on free buses provided by the government, often to check on relatives in other regions.
