A Nepali police team has pulled out the bodies of about 50 people, including some foreign trekkers, from an avalanche-hit area, officials said on Sunday, as the death toll from last month’s devastating earthquake climbed to over 7 000.
None of the bodies have been identified, said Pravin Pokharel, deputy superintendent of police in the northern district of Rasuwa.
Pokharel, who led the police team, said the bodies were pulled out on Saturday, a week after the earthquake, and rescuers would return to the remote area on Sunday.
At least 200 other people are still missing in the area, including villagers and trekkers, said Uddhav Bhattarai, the senior most bureaucrats in the district.
“We had not been able to reach the area earlier because of rains and cloudy weather,” he said by telephone.
The government said the death toll from the earthquake has reached 7 040 and the number of injured was 14,123.
US military aircraft and personnel were due to arrive in Nepal on Sunday, a day later than expected, to help ferry relief supplies to stricken areas outside the capital Kathmandu, a US Marines spokesperson said.
Marine Brigadier General Paul Kennedy has said the delayed US contingent included at least 100 US soldiers, lifting equipment and six military aircraft, two of them helicopters.
The team arrives as criticism mounted over a pile-up of relief material at Kathmandu airport, the only international gateway to the Himalayan nation, because of customs inspections.
United Nations Resident Representative Jamie McGoldrick said the government must loosen its normal customs restrictions to deal with the increasing flow of relief material pouring in from abroad.
But the government, complaining it has received unneeded supplies such as tuna and mayonnaise, insisted its customs agents had to check all emergency shipments.
“They should not be using peacetime customs methodology, “the U.N.’s McGoldrick said.
Instead, he argued, all relief material should get a blanket exemption from checks on arrival.
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