Rishi Khanal is taken out of a collapsed building by police and the French rescue team.

Death toll rises

It comes as the death toll for the devastating earthquake topped 5000.



Hungry and desperate villagers have rushed towards relief helicopters in remote areas of Nepal, begging to be airlifted to safety.



"The ground keeps shaking, even this morning it did. Every time it feels like we will be swallowed, that we will die now. I want to get out of here!" said Sita Gurung, 24, whose home had been wrecked.

1 of 15 Peter Drury / Fairfax NZ Women walk past collapsed buildings from the powerful earthquake that took place on April 25. 2 of 15 PETER DRURY/ Fairfax NZ Local people run into the streets to avoid from collapsing buildings during the powerful 7.9 quake on April 25. 3 of 15 PETER DRURY/ Fairfax NZ An injured Buddhist Monk is carried away in a blanket after the powerful 7.9 earthquake shook Nepal on April 25th. 4 of 15 PETER DRURY/ Fairfax NZ Motorcycles buried under collapsed buildings in Kathmandu's Durbar Square following the earthquake on April 25. 5 of 15 PETER DRURY/ Fairfax NZ A woman and her child scramble away from collapsing buildings during a powerful aftershock following the earthquake on April 25. 6 of 15 PETER DRURY/ Fairfax NZ People take refuge in a open plaza near Kathmandu's Durbar Square in the wake of the earthquake on April 25. 7 of 15 PETER DRURY/ Fairfax NZ People take refuge in a open plaza as a young boy is in tears near Kathmandu's Durbar Square following the earthquake on April 25. 8 of 15 PETER DRURY/ Fairfax NZ People take refuge in a open area near Kathmandu's Durbar Square following the earthquake on April 25. 9 of 15 PETER DRURY / Fairfax NZ A woman walks past collapsed buildings in the Thamel district following the earthquake on April 25. 10 of 15 PETER DRURY/ Fairfax NZ People take refuge in a open plaza near Kathmandu's Durbar Square following the earthquake on April 25. 11 of 15 PETER DRURY/ Fairfax NZ A digger lifts walls of a collapsed building to free trapped people or recover bodies after a powerful 7.9 earthquake on April 25. 12 of 15 Peter Drury A woman and her child scramble through a collapsed stupa downed in the powerful 7.9 earthquake on April 25. 13 of 15 PETER DRURY/ Fairfax NZ Army and rescuers stand near bodies recovered from collapsed buildings in Kathmandu following the earthquake on April 25. 14 of 15 PETER DRURY/Fairfax NZ Soldiers clear away bricks from collapsed buildings near Kathmandu's Durbar Square following the earthquake on April 25. 15 of 15 PETER DRURY/ Fairfax NZ Search and Rescue workers from India investigate a collapsed building following the earthquake on April 25.

As the Himalayan nation's Prime Minister Sushil Koirala said getting help to remote areas was a "major challenge", aid finally began reaching areas that had to fend for themselves since Saturday's 7.8-magnitude quake.

In a televised address late Tuesday, Koirala declared three days of national mourning for the 5057 people known to have perished in Nepal alone.



A woman suffering two broken legs from Saturday's massive earthquake, arrives by helicopter from the heavily-damaged Ranachour village. Photo: AP

More than 100 people died in neighbouring countries such as India and China.

Around 8000 people had been injured while the United Nations estimated that eight million people had been affected.

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Neighbours leading relief efforts

Countries far and wide have joined the relief effort in what is one of Asia's poorest countries, with neighbouring India playing a leading role.

In Gorkha, one of the worst-hit districts, terrified residents ran with outstretched arms towards an Indian army helicopter to plead for food and water.

An AFP journalist on board saw scores of houses across several villages in the district turned into twisted mounds of wood and corrugated tin roofs.

"We haven't had any food here since the earthquake," Gurung told AFP.

Koirala told an emergency all-party meeting the government was sending desperately needed tents, water and food supplies to those in need.

But he said authorities were overwhelmed by appeals for help from remote Himalayan villages.

"Appeals for rescues are coming in from everywhere," a statement from Koirala's office quoted him as saying.

"But we have been unable to initiate rescue efforts in many areas at the same time due to lack of equipment and rescue experts."

The United Nations said it was releasing $US15 million ($A19.09 million) from its emergency fund to help relief efforts while the World Food Program said it aimed to get food aid to 1.4 million people over the next three months.

Australia said it was raising its level of aid to $A6 million and sending a military plane to bring in relief supplies and evacuate stranded citizens.

But lack of space at the only international airport was hampering efforts to bring in relief by air.

A state of emergency

Nepal has declared a state of emergency after the disaster, its deadliest in more than 80 years.

Families who work in Kathmandu were packing onto buses - some even sitting on the roofs - in an exodus from the city.

Those who remained in the capital were sleeping outdoors in tents in parks and other open spaces. Many had lost their houses, others were too terrified to return home after several powerful aftershocks.

With just plastic sheets to protect them from the elements, many were desperate for aid and information on what to do next.

"We've been staying here for three days, living under canvas. We're counting every bite we eat, every drop we drink," said 28-year-old housewife Rama Shrestha, who was camping out with her five-year-old son.

Hospitals have been overwhelmed, with morgues overflowing and medics working flat out to cope with an endless stream of victims suffering trauma or multiple fractures.