Catholic charity organization, Caritas Nepal, continues to work round the clock in the wake of Saturday’s devastating earthquake.
A 7.9 magnitude earthquake rocked the Asian country. The current death toll is at 3,617 and more than 6,500 wounded.
In an interview with Fides, Fr. Pius Perumana, director of Caritas Nepal, said that the number of dead will continue to rise steadily in the aftermath of the tragic disaster.
«We have reached more than three thousand dead but considering the affected districts, we expect the number to reach six thousand people,» he said. «Many bodies are still under the rubble and the army and civil protection teams are fully involved in the rescue operations. It is estimated there are already 5,000 injured and thousands are displaced and homeless.»
Caritas Nepal, he continued, is visiting the places hit hardest and distributing food and water to survivors.
Fr. Pius also noted that the earthquake struck during a public holiday were many people were outside. «This avoided an even higher number of casualties,» he said.
UNICEF, however, reported that there are over 900,000 Nepalese children in need of humanitarian assistance. (J.A.E.)
