Death toll now above 5,000, over 8 million people affected - UN

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April 28, 2015 6:12 PM

Officials have said that the death toll from the deadly disaster has crossed 5,000 and could very well reach 10,000.

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Statistics from the United Nations shows that over 8 million people, which is over a quarter of the population, have been affected by Saturday's earthquake in Nepal, BBC reports.

Officials have also said that the death toll from the deadly disaster has crossed 5,000 and could very well reach 10,000. Over 10,000 people have also been injured in the earthquake with another half a million people displaced.

Fears of disease outbreaks also abound as water, food and electricity are in short supply.

A report from the UN Office of the Resident Co-ordinator in Nepal read that 8 million people in 39 districts have been affected, of which over 2 million people live in the 11 severely affected districts.

Meanwhile, Nepal Prime Minister Sushil Koirala has said that the government is doing all it can to help survivors of the earthquake, however it is overwhelmed. He said,

"The government is doing all it can for rescue and relief on a war footing in a difficult hour for Nepal"

He also admitted that lack of equipment and expert personnel meant the "appeals for rescues coming in from everywhere" in many cases could not be met.

Reports also state that foreign aid is arriving the country but being is hampered by congestion at Kathmandu's only airport.

As rescue efforts go underway, landslips and periodic bad weather in the remote mountainous region around the epicentre add to the challenge for rescue and relief teams, leading helicopters to now air-dropping tents, dry food and medicine - though they are yet to reach many isolated communities.

US doctor, Rebecca McAteer, who was one of the first to arrive in the district of Gorkha close to the epicentre reported that many of the houses in the area were flattened and most residents were older men and women and children, as the younger men had left to find work elsewhere.

Over 50 hours after the tragedy, people are reportedly still being pulled from the rubble even as many in the village at the epicentre want to leave for fear of aftershocks.

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