NEPAL QUAKE DEATH TOLL TOPS 3,200

Cremation smoke fills the air

KATHMANDU, Nepal — Shellshocked and sleeping in the streets, tens of thousands of people continued to dig Monday for survivors of the massive earthquake that ripped across this Himalayan nation, killing more than 3,200 people.

Acrid, white smoke rose above Nepal’s most revered Hindu temple, where dozens of bodies were being cremated at any given time.

Aid groups received the first word from remote mountain villages and the news wasn’t good. Villagers said many communities perched on mountainsides were devastated or struggling to cope.

Landslides hindered rescue teams that tried to use mountain trails to reach those in need, said Prakash Subedi, chief district official in the Gorkha region, where the quake was centered.

“Villages like this are routinely affected by landslides, and it’s not uncommon for entire villages of 200, 300, up to 1,000 people to be completely buried by rock falls,” said Matt Darvas, a member of the aid group World Vision.

“It will likely be helicopter access only.”

Saturday’s magnitude 7.8 earthquake spread horror from Kathmandu to small villages and to the slopes of Mount Everest, triggering an avalanche that buried part of the base camp packed with foreign climbers preparing to make their summit attempts.

At least 18 people died there and 61 were injured.

With people fearing more quakes, tens of thousands spent Sunday crowding in the streets and the night sleeping in parks or on a golf course.

Others camped in open squares lined by cracked buildings and piles of rubble.

Helicopter blades thudded periodically overhead.

Crows screeched as the ground shook with the worst of a series of strong aftershocks — magnitude 6.7. The periodic shaking sent panicked residents racing outdoors.

“We don’t feel safe at all. There have been so many aftershocks. It doesn’t stop,” said Rajendra Dhungana, 34, who spent the day with his niece’s family for her cremation at the Pashuputi Nath Temple in Katmandu.

“I’ve watched hundreds of bodies burn. I never thought I’d see so many ... Nepal should learn a lesson from this. They should realize proper buildings should be built. There should be open spaces people can run to.”

Nepal officials said 3,218 people had died, but gave no details.

Another 61 people were killed in neighboring India.

China reported that 20 people had died in Tibet.