“The government is doing all it can for rescue and relief on a war footing,” Koirala said in an interview. “It is a challenge and a very difficult hour for Nepal.”

Up to eight million people have had their lives disrupted after a deadly earthquake shook Nepal, said the United Nations, adding there was an urgent need for relief materials. Thereis an acute shortage of food, water, electricity and medicines as fear of another quake kept tens of thousands of people out into the open.

More than 1.4 million need food, while water and shelter are also in short supply, the UN said in a report.

Indian Army soldiers place an injured woman, who was wounded in Saturday’s earthquake, on a stretcher after she was evacuated from Trishuli Bazar to the airport in Kathmandu, Nepal. (Reuters photo)

Three days after the quake hit the country, rescue teams have still not reached some of the worst-affected areas of Lamjung, the site of the quake’s epicentre.

“We are still at the rescue and relief operation. Rescue operation is going on even within the valley, collapsed structures are major challenge still. There have been requests from many places, we have been able to attend to some. We are still trying to put together group of people here, expertise is needed from various areas,” Nepal’s Information and Communications Minister Minendra Rijal said.

At least 4,352 bodies have so far been recovered after the massive earthquake that struck on Saturday, April 25 just outside of capital Kathmandu, a Nepalese police official said. Also, a total of 8,063 people have been injured in the quake.

Hundreds of people are still trapped under tonnes of rubble in the capital Kathmandu and some of the worst-affected remote mountainous areas, amid concerns that toll could cross 10,000 mark, authorities said.

A woman carries her belongings as she walks over collapsed house after earthquake in Bhaktapur, Nepal. (Reuters photo)

The government has announced nine districts as highly-affected areas.

Based on human casualty, Sindhupalchowk, Kathmandu, Nuwakot, Dhading, Bhaktapur, Gorkha, Kavre, Lalitpur and Rasuwa have been declared as the most-affected districts. The government has said that altogether 60 districts have been affected by the earthquake.

Of those killed in the earthquake, 923 are from Kathmandu, 240 from Bhaktapur and 157 from Lalitpur while the rest are from outside the Kathmandu Valley.

Tremors shook northeast India on Monday, three days after a severe earthquake caused devastation in neighbouring Nepal, sending residents rushing out of their homes fearing for their safety.

“It was just now, Everything was shaking. People began to come out of their homes,” a Reuters reporter in Patna said.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Sushil Koirala has admitted that the rescue, relief and search operations have not been effective. He has urged the political parties to work together in this national crisis.

A rescue helicopter is shown at the Mount Everest south base camp in Nepal a day after a huge earthquake-caused avalanche killed at least 17 people, in this photo courtesy of 6summitschallenge.com. (Source: Reuters)

Post-quake management is challenging, Koirala said in an all-party meeting organised by Constituent Assembly Chairman Subas Nembang on Monday, April 27. The government is receiving requests from across the country for help, he was quoted as saying by ‘My Republica’.

He also stressed that, the government had been unable to extend rescue efforts to several places due to a crunch of logistics and experts. The Premier also appealed to the people to donate blood.

The quake that flattened homes and buildings and the subsequent powerful aftershocks have forced people to live out in the open under plastic tents, barely shielding them from cold and rains that have pounded the city.

Nepal has issued epidemic and health warnings, media reports said.

While the rescue ops continue, mass cremations are being held for the victims of the devastating earthquake.

Hundreds were cremated in open grounds as funeral pyres burned with families of victims wailing in grief after losing their loved ones.

People perform last rites for their family members at a cremation ground after an earthquake in Bhaktapur, Nepal. (Reuters photo)