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Many people are desperate to board buses and leave Kathmandu
Help has begun to reach remote regions of Nepal affected by Saturday’s earthquake, but many remain in desperate need of food and water.
As aid efforts continue in the Kathmandu Valley, the UN says the response is broadening to include areas such as Dhading and Gorkha.
The 7.8-magnitude earthquake that hit near the capital Kathmandu is known to have claimed more than 5,000 lives.
Nepal has declared three days of mourning for the victims.
The UN estimates more than eight million people in 39 districts have been affected by the quake. More than 10,000 people have been injured.
Officials have acknowledged that they have been overwhelmed by the scale of the disaster and that delivering relief to far-flung villages has been challenging.
“The terrain is such that very remote areas take a very long time to reach and without being there physically we won’t be able to reach them, help them, rescue them,” said Jagdish Chandra Pokherel, a Nepal army spokesman.
“Our troops are trying their best.”
There are accounts of hungry, desperate villagers in one of the hardest hit districts of Gorkha rushing towards relief helicopters begging to be airlifted.
“We haven’t had any food here since the earthquake,” Sita Gurung, whose home in Gorkha was destroyed, told AFP news agency. “Everything has changed, we don’t have anything left here.”
©AFP