A Danish woman has been admitted to hospital in Nepal’s capital Kathmandu following the devastating earthquake that hit the country on Saturday.
According to Egberg Ole Mikkelsen, the head of the Foreign Ministry’s consular services and communication department, the woman was transported by helicopter from a town outside of Kathmandu and is reportedly in a good condition.
Meanwhile, the death toll from the massive earthquake has surpassed 3,400 and is expected to climb further as officials keep receiving updates from the rugged countryside.
According to the national emergency operation centre, more than 6,500 people have been injured in the disaster.
READ MORE: Danes lending a hand after Nepalese earthquake
Cancel your trip to Nepal
Of the 280 Danes who were in Nepal during the earthquake, 52 are still unaccounted for.
Mikkelsen explained, however, that many of them are in areas with bad or no reception, and therefore it is difficult to reach them.
Some 61 Danes spent Sunday night camped in the garden of the Danish embassy in Kathmandu and several of them are already on their way back to Denmark.
The Foreign Ministry advises against all “non-essential journeys” to Nepal until the security situation and rescue operations are under control.
While commercial airlines continue to fly from Kathmandu, the airport has been closed for a few short periods, which may delay departures.
Aid is coming
The current situation in Nepal, one of collapsed buildings and impassable roads, is chaotic. Most parts of the country are without electricity and the mobile network is also down.
Thousands of Katmandu’s residents are squatting on the streets because their homes have been destroyed or they are afraid to enter buildings.
Rescue missions and aid material have started arriving in the country to help locals cope with the aftermath of the earthquake – the worst in more than 80 years.
Denmark has already allocated 5 million kroner from its emergency fund to support relief operations in Nepal.
The mountainous country is one of the poorest in the world with more than a quarter of the country’s 30 million inhabitants living below the poverty line.
The earthquake, with a 7.8 magnitude, struck shortly before noon on Saturday. The US Geological Survey had counted 12 aftershocks by mid-afternoon, one of which measured 6.6.
