Kathmandu: Shaken and traumatised by their homes turning into a rubble by the powerful earthquake in Nepal that also flattened buildings and iconic monuments, survivors were struggling to come to terms with the calamity and the loss of lives of their dear ones.
Even as the toll from the quake crossed the 2,000-mark, it was the spectre of aftershocks that kept people on the edge while equally pressing problems of food and shelter loomed for many who have been left homeless by the tremors yesterday.
Among the terrified people are hundreds of Indians who are in the country either to work or as tourists. Caught in the middle of the devastation, their first thought is to head back home.
"We are very shocked to see what happened here yesterday. It was very sad... My whole family is suffering as there is no food, water and almost all the shops are closed," said a labourer in the Nepalese capital hailing from Kolkata.
"At least 500-1,000 workers have come here... We all want to go back. We have no idea how to go back home as there is no information because the electricity is cut off. We know some rescue planes have been flown in from India, we are trying to reach those and go back home," he said.
Thousands of people were displaced as the powerful 7.9- magnitude temblor ripped through Nepal. Roads developed huge cracks and buildings were brought to the ground.
People had to spend the night under the open sky but even so there was no relief as the aftershocks meant that hardly anybody could sleep.
Over 550 Indians have been evacuated so far by Indian Air Force as the country stepped up its relief and rescue efforts as part of Operation Maitri.
"I have been living here with my family for the past 20 years. We were sitting inside a room when we felt the earth shaking; we ran out and saw people scrambling to get to safety.
"We have a little bit of food that was given to us... Not only me, everybody here at the relief camp is facing a shortage of food and water. We really want to go to back to Kolkata but how will we do so is a concern," said another worker from Kolkata.
Thomas Nybo, a freelance photographer, was sitting in a coffee shop in Kathmandu's Thamel district when he felt what he first thought was only a minor tremor.
"This region is no stranger to earthquakes. A lot of people had the same feeling, that it is a tremor and it will pass. But when they saw that that wasn't the case, they were in uncharted territory," he told a TV news channel.
As the tremors grew in intensity, Nybo said that
thousands of people poured out on to the streets of the densely-populated tourist hub.
He spotted a woman standing beside huge mound of rubble under which she said children were trapped.
"We ran over and ran around the rubble and couldn't hear anything. There was no chance that they survived," Nybo said.
Matthew Wojciechowski, 47, was in Kathmandu for a tattoo convention when the earthquake struck.
"I thought at first that it was a very loud helicopter landing," he said.
Wojciechowski said he was walking towards the hall where the convention was being held when he realised what was going on. He rushed towards the hall to look for his girlfriend.
"It was almost a stampede and people were stepping over each other regardless of age. It was shocking to see people so frantic," he said.
An Austrian stranded in Nepal, said, "We were walking around in the city centre and suddenly the earthquake occurred. We were totally scared. We haven't experienced anything like this before. Thank God nothing happened to us."
"We were to go back yesterday, but the flight got cancelled because of the quake. We were told to wait for seven hours but it has already been 28 hours and there is no information from the airlines," he added.
A local who was near the Dharhara tower recalled how the iconic tower shook and then crashed to the ground.
"I was around 500 metres away when it shook initially and then fell suddenly... There was dust all around and nothing was visible. There were a lot of people inside the tower as it was a holiday... Many tourists were there," he said.
P Shrestha, a police official, said that nearly 200 people had bought tickets to enter Dharhara tower.
Hospitals in Nepal are struggling to handle the flow of victims which is running into thousands. The injured have been laid out on the floors and even on grounds outside of hospitals as they are being given treatment.
