A Nepalese man has died during a rescue operation in a remote village in the Himalayas after locals and tourists fought for places on an evacuation helicopter.

Some 150 Israeli tourists had been trapped in villages in the Langtang Valley since the devastating earthquake last Saturday, and were set to be rescued by several helicopters yesterday.

Witnesses say villagers had demanded to be rescued before the tourists, and had threatened the Israelis before clambering to get spaces on the chopper.

Rescue mission: Some 150 Israeli were set to be rescued from the remote Himalayan village when several altercations with locals took place (pictured is a rescue helicopter on Mount Everest this week)

It was also reported that villagers and tourists got into physical altercations during the rescue operation, and that a helicopter pilot was taken hostage by locals.

'The villagers demanded that they be evacuated first, threatened the Israelis and rushed the helicopter,' Israeli daily Yediot Achronot said, according to the Times of Israel.

'One of the Nepalese was killed when his head was hit by the rotor.

'In another case several villagers grabbed the helicopter co-pilot and took him hostage to ensure they would be evacuated.'

The Israeli tourists were eventually evacuated after having moved to an alternative spot on foot.

Israeli media claims that villagers and tourists got into fights over spaces on the helicopters, which saw one Nepalese man die when he was hit by the rotor, and that a helicopter pilot was taken hostage by locals

Israel has provided the largest medical rescue team in the wake of the Kathmandu Valley quake, with more than 250 doctors, medics and other specialists, Israeli media claims.

According to EU officials, some 9,000 EU citizens are still in Nepal following Saturday's earthquake. More than 1,000 of them have not been reached yet.

Saturday's earthquake has displaced about 2.8 million Nepalese. Over 70,000 homes are believed to be destroyed and another 530,000 damaged in 39 out of the country's 75 districts.

The official death toll in Nepal has reached 5,489. It does not include the 19 people killed at Mount Everest — five foreign climbers and 14 Nepalese Sherpa guides — when the quake caused an avalanche at base camp.

Relief aid group Oxfam says congestion at Kathmandu airport, blocked roads, fuel shortages and difficult terrain are slowing down the pace of aid delivery.