More fear, more misery - Multiple jolts in middle of bid to pick up pieces

A woman injured in the earthquake on Tuesday walks towards a
hospital at Sankhu in Nepal. (Reuters)

TT, Kathmandu, May 12 (AP, Reuters): A new earthquake killed dozens of people today and spread more fear and misery in Nepal, which is still struggling to recover from a devastating quake nearly three weeks ago that left more than 8,000 dead.

The magnitude-7.3 quake, centred midway between Kathmandu and Mount Everest, struck hardest in the foothills of the Himalayas, triggering some landslides, but it also shook the capital badly, sending thousands of terrified people into the streets.

The US military's Pacific Command said a Marine Corps helicopter involved in disaster relief had gone missing, with six US Marines and two Nepalese soldiers aboard.

The US Marine Corps helicopter crew was overheard talking on the radio about fuel problems before the aircraft was reported missing, the Pentagon said.

Pentagon spokesperson Col. Steve Warren said US search flights have been suspended because of darkness but a ground search by Nepalese army troops in the rugged, mountainous area continued during the night. "Essentially what we have right now is truly a missing helicopter. We simply don't know its location," Warren said.

Nepal's Parliament was in session when the quake hit, and frightened lawmakers ran for the exits as the building shook and the lights flickered out.

Most of the reported fatalities in the quake were in villages and towns east of Kathmandu.

Villagers who watched their homes collapse said they only survived because they were already living in tents.

Aid workers reported serious damage to some villages in the worst affected Charikot area and said some people were still trapped under rubble. Witnesses said rocks and mud came crashing down remote hillsides lined with roads and small hamlets.

"We still don't have a clear view of the scale of the problem," said Dan Sermand, emergency coordinator at Medecins Sans Frontieres, which surveyed the area by air.

The UN has only raised 13 per cent of the $423 million it said was needed to help Nepal recover from the April tragedy, and relief workers warned that even more funding would now be needed.

In the town of Sangachowk, residents were outside receiving government food aid when the quake struck. "It was really lucky. If we were inside, it would have been a lot worse," said Purushottam Acharya, 38.

A family sat on the edge of road where their house had just fallen down the hill, rubble spread over hundreds of feet below. "We watched it go down slowly, slowly," said Ashok Parajuli, 30.

In Charikot, where at least 20 bodies were recovered, hotel owner Top Thapa said the quake was at least as strong as last month.

The tremors that began at around 12.30 could be felt in Bangladesh and were followed by a series of powerful aftershocks.

Parents clutched children tightly, and hundreds of people frantically tried to call relatives on mobile phones. Shopkeepers closed their stores and the streets were jammed with people rushing to check on families.