EXCLUSIVE: The Terrified Mother who Gave Birth as the Nepal Earthquake truck
- ‘I Watched Cracks Appear in Hospital Walls and Patients Run for Their Lives’
- Asha Shrestha was in labour when the earthquake hit, causing cracks in the walls of the Kathmandu maternity unit
- 7.3-magnitude earthquake struck in an isolated area 42 miles west of Namche Bazar and triggered deadly landslides
- The tremors were felt over thousands of miles and as far apart as Dhaka in Bangladesh and New Delhi in India
- Nepal's Home Ministry says the death toll from the earthquake has now risen to at least 37, and is likely to grow
- Seventeen other victims were recorded in India and another person lost their life in Tibet, it has been reported
- Comes less than three weeks after a quake devastated the region, leaving 8,000 dead and thousands homeless
- US officials said a US Marine Corps helicopter with two Nepalese soldiers and six US Marines on board is missing
Daily Mail 13 May 2015 Australia
A terrified mother watched cracks appear in the walls of a Kathmandu maternity unit and felt the ground shake beneath her feet as a massive earthquake struck Nepal while she was in labour.
Plaster began falling from the walls and patients ran for their lives as Asha Shrestha, 29, prepared to give birth in an operating theatre in Prashuti Griha Hospital.
Her distressed relatives carried her from the room and sheltered in a tent after the powerful 7.3-magnitude earthquake hit, killing dozens of people and sending thousands more rushing out in to the streets of the capital Kathmandu.
An hour later, Ms Shrestha gave birth to her daughter in an emergency room and lay down side-by-side with other new mothers and their babies in a corridor.
Her home was destroyed less than three weeks ago when a devastating 7.8-magnitude quake killed more than 8,000 people, flattened entire villages and left hundreds of thousands homeless in the region.
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Newborn: Asha Shrestha (pictured with her baby girl on a corridor floor) was in labour when the powerful earthquake struck Nepal
Shrestha’s husband Bharat (pictured), who was outside the hospital at this time, said: 'I was very worried about what had happened to them'
Ms Shrestha's relatives were waiting outside the operating theatre when the ground began to shake at around 12.35pm local time Tuesday.
'Doctors were ready with a syringe, when the earthquake started,' said relative Eta Laxmi, 29, who was waiting nearby. 'I got very scared. We only had 10 minutes left till the surgery officially started and the walls started cracking around me.'
Chaos ensued as patients began running and the hospital was evacuated. Doctors waited with Ms Shrestha until the ground stopped shaking before her family burst into the room and carried her to the safety of a tent in an open space outside.
Ms Shrestha’s husband Bharat, 38, who was outside the hospital at this time, said: 'I was at the main gate of the hospital. I was very worried about what had happened to them.'
She sat in the tent in pain before being rushed to an emergency room by doctors, where she gave birth to a baby girl. Ms Shrestha, who only remembers being scared before waking up with her new daughter, said: 'I am fine now.'
Mr Shrestha said: 'We are so happy our child is safe, and are happy to be parents again but Asha cannot stop worrying.
'She is fretting non-stop. She keeps saying "what will we do? How will we live".'
The baby girl is their third child. Their other daughters are staying in a make-shift home in the ruins of their house in Swayambhu.
'Our house was an old mud house,' Mr Shrestha added. 'It has collapsed completely, and we haven’t even had time to get our things out. We have no home to take her back to.'
The desperate father added: 'What do I name someone who was born in this earthquake?'
A woman is comforted by relatives and friends after her husband died on the outskirts of Patna in India after an earthquake and several powerful aftershocks hit Nepal
A woman crouches on a pile of rubble in the streets in Kathmandu after the powerful earthquake hit Nepal Tuesday, less than three weeks after the initial quake
Terrified: Women run for their lives carrying their belongings and children in Sankhu, Nepal after the devastating earthquake hit on May 12
Survivors of the earthquake set up shelters in open spaces in Sankhu, Nepal. Dozens of people have been killed and thousands rushed out in to the streets of the capital
An injured man is moved on a stretcher at Kathmandu Airport. Just three weeks earlier the region was devastated when another quake struck
As night draws in a woman holds a child as she sits in an open area in Kathmandu. Many feared going back indoors tonight after the second major earthquake to hit Nepal in three weeks
Kathmandu residents prepare makeshift tents on an avenue in the capital city as they prepare to spend the night out in the open
At least 37 people were killed in the quake according to Nepal's Home Ministry. But that toll was expected to rise as reports began reaching Kathmandu of people in isolated Himalayan towns and villages being buried under rubble, according to the UN's Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.
Nepalese government official Laxmi Dhakal said that the quake also left at least 1,117 people injured after it triggered landslides and caused buildings to collapse.
At least 17 people in India have died, Home Ministry spokesman Kuldeep Dhatwalia said, taking the toll across both countries to 55.
The US Geological Survey said the quake had a magnitude of 7.3 and struck in an isolated conservation area 42 miles west of the town of Namche Bazar, close to Mount Everest and the border with Tibet.
Speaking of the earthquake, Kathmandu-based businesswoman Shiwani Neupane told MailOnline: 'I was on the sixth floor of my office building when the quake hit. We had been discussing re-building of a village...The meeting had just ended, and suddenly, the sofa I was sitting on started shaking.
'At first, we thought it was a slight tremor but in seconds it felt bigger. My mother, father and I were in the office and we rushed towards the door but the building started swinging... Everyone was praying in their own way. Some were calling God's name out loud and others were more quiet.
'I knew the building had been constructed safely, so I kept thinking of that. Once the tremors subsided, everyone ran downstairs. I kept saying, don't run, don't run please because while reporting at the hospital, I had learnt that many get hit badly while running.
'Once we were outside, there was chaos in the street. The ground was still shaking. People were calling their loved ones. We walked right to the middle of the street, and stood there as motorcycles zoomed past us...The ground was still shaking and there was fear in so many people's eyes.'
'Soon, we got on our car, and drove back home... [but] we had to stop in the middle of the road because of another tremor.
'I saw patients in Prashuti Griha - the maternal hospital for women - crowded. There was a doctor in slippers and a mask. He looked like he might have run out of a surgery. There were groups and groups of people gathered outside everywhere.'
Evacuation: Patients are carried out of a hospital building as a 7.3 magnitude earthquake hit Nepal. Shockwaves were felt as far apart as Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh, and the Indian capital New Delhi
Total fear: Nepalese people run for open space as the massive earthquake hits Kathmandu earlier on Tuesday
Carnage: This building in central Kathmandu collapsed after the morning's massive earthquake rocked the centre of the Nepalese capital
All in it together: People gather in the safety of open space in central Kathmandu following Tuesday's major earthquake
Running for cover: Total chaos breaks out in the streets of Kathmandu following the 7.3 magnitude earthquake
A Nepalese man runs to safety through central Kathmandu after an earthquake hit a remote mountainous region in the centre of the country
Location: The quake's epicentre was close to Everest Base Camp, which was evacuated after an avalanche triggered by the April 25 quake killed 18 climbers
Briton Chloe Lyttle, who works for the disaster response organisation All Hands Volunteers', told MailOnline: 'I was at my desk and the ground started shaking.
'It took a few seconds to realise and then I ran outside. I knew my colleague Sinah was sleeping inside, but my body froze, I shouted her name and she came running out. We held each other shaking, while the floor beneath us continued to shake.'
She and colleague Sinah Keller were sleeping out in the open tonight and both experienced a further aftershock at around 2am, which sounded as though it brought another building nearby, they said.
Elsewhere in Kathmandu throughout the day parents could be seen clutching children tightly and hundreds of people were frantically trying to call relatives on their mobile phones.
Rescue helicopters were immediately sent to districts north east of the capital after the magnitude 7.3 quake.
The government had trouble contacting people in the area, Mr Dhakal said, but initial reports suggested there was damage in Sindhupalchowk and Dolkha districts.
Shopkeepers closed their shops and the streets were jammed with people rushing to check on their families.
Paul Dillon, a spokesman with the International Organization for Migration later confirmed that at least four of the total death toll were killed in Chautara.
A rescue team from the agency has begun searching through the wreckage of the little town, he said.
The quake caused landslides around Chautara, and more than 100 people were injured in surrounding villages, chief district officer Krishna Gyawali said.
Chautara has become a hub for humanitarian aid in the wake of a major April 25 quake .
Gisli Olafsson Emergency Response Director of humanitarian organization NetHope tweeted: 'Our colleagues in Chautara report buildings collapsing there in the 7.1M aftershock #NepalQuake'.
'People bringing hurt loved ones into the Red Cross hospital in Chautara after the 7M+ aftershock #NepalQuake', he added.
Stricken: Residents of Kathmandu gather together as they watch buildings collapse in the Nepalese capital following Tuesday's earthquake
American rescue workers search for survivors at the site of a Kathmandu house collapse following the massive earthquake
Nepalese rescue workers search for survivors at the site of collapsed buildings in Kathmandu following the massive earthquake
Scene of desturction: Tuesday's deadly earthquake levelled scores of buildings in the Nepalese capital Kathmandu
Rubble: The cleaning-up of collapsed buildings in central Kathmandu has already begun following Tuesday's huge quake
A man stands on the debris of his collapsed house in the Nepalese town of Sankhu after the 7.3-magnitude earthquake struck the country
Medics treat an injured person at the police hospital in Kathmandu following the 7.3 magnitude earthquake which struck at around 12.35pm
Nepal volunteer compares destruction in Bungamati to WWII;
Mr Olafson initially described the quake as 7.1 magnitude because that what how it was initially registered by the U.S. Geological Survey. It was later upgraded to 7.4 before being downgraded down to 7.3.
Aftershocks of 5.6 and 6.3 magnitude hit Nepal less than an hour after the original quake.
Writing on Twitter before her mobile phone battery ran out, Ms Neupane described the chaos that broke out as the earthquake hit.
'We are very scared. Everyone is calling family members,' she said.
'Massive chaos on the street. People running out of homes. Ground is still shaking,' she added.
'The streets are completely chaotic. Blaring horns, people standing in the middle of the street... Chaos has ensued. Ambulances on road. Hope many don't die,' she went on to say.
The quake's epicentre was close to Everest Base Camp, which was evacuated after an avalanche triggered by the April 25 quake killed 18 climbers.
It struck 52 miles east of Kathmandu at a depth of 11.4 miles, according to the USGS, while the April 25 quake hit 9.3 miles below the surface.
Shallow earthquakes tend to cause more damage above ground.
'The shaking seemed to go on and on,' said Rose Foley, a UNICEF official based in Kathmandu. 'It felt like being on a boat in rough seas.'
Panic: People were seen comforting each other in the streets of Kathmandu as hundreds of others frantically tried to call their relatives
An injured woman holds a flannel to her bloodied head in the Nepalese town of Sankhu as she makes her way to a nearby hospital
Traumatised: A woman breaks into tears outside the Nepal Police Hospital in Kathmandu following Tuesday's massive earthquake
An elderly Hindu woman attempts to rest at a field hospital in Kathmandu, where those injured by the earthquake sought treatment
Taking a break: People gather in the safety of open space in central Kathmandu following Tuesday's major earthquake
Taking care: People bring their injured relatives to a police hospital in Kathmandu following the 7.3 magnitude earthquake
Working incredibly hard: A team of medics treat an injured person at the police hospital in Kathmandu
Aid agencies struggled to get reports from outside of the capital.
'We're thinking about children across the country, and who are already suffering. This could make them even more vulnerable,' Foley said.
Norway's Red Cross, which was helping people from the April 25 earthquake at a 60-bed hospital in Chautara in central Nepal, said on Twitter in Norwegian that there were 'many injured, several killed' and added that their hospital tents have already received patients.
At the Norvic Hospital in Kathmandu, patients and doctors rushed to the parking lot.
'I thought I was going to die this time,' said Sulav Singh, who rushed with his daughter into the street in the suburban neighborhood of Thapathali. 'Things were just getting back to normal, and we get this one.'
Catherine Cowley from CAFOD's Humanitarian team is in Bakrang in Gorkha District – one of the worst hit districts from the first quake – and said people there are completely terrified, with one woman screaming at the sound of a car starting, thinking it was another quake.
'There was a large group of us meeting outside when the earth started shaking. Everyone started pointing at the trees and running. The earthquake lasted quite a while and there have been several aftershocks since then,' she said.
Worry: In Kathmandu, parents could be seen clutching children tightly as the ground continued to shake beneath them
Out in the open: Nepalese patients lie on stretchers area after being carried out of a hospital building as a 7.3 magnitude earthquake hit the country. They were evacuated in case the hospital collapsed
Aftershocks of 5.6 and 6.3 magnitude hit Nepal less than an hour after the original earthquake
Fear: Nepalese people gather in the streets of Kathmandu after the 7.3 magnitude earthquake hit the country
Shockwaves were felt over thousands of miles and as far apart as Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh, and the Indian capital New Delhi, where buildings swayed for more than a minute and people scurried into the streets. This image was taken in Allahabad, India
Many houses in the villages here had already been destroyed by the last earthquake, but we saw one that had only been cracked collapse. Across Nepal, a lot of houses which were already partially damaged could fall down,' she added.
'The impact could be immense. But the biggest impact is fear. Everyone is desperately trying to contact their families to make sure they're safe. Everyone is scared that more buildings will collapse.'
'When we started the car to leave the village, a woman screamed because she thought the engine noise was another aftershock. People are traumatised and panicking. Driving through the countryside you can see people gathered outside, terrified of going indoors,' she went on to say.
Nepalese people have been terrified by dozens of aftershocks that hit the country in the days following the April 25 quake.
Meanwhile, the impoverished country has appealed for billions of dollars in aid from foreign nations, as well as medical experts to treat the wounded and helicopters to ferry food and temporary shelters to hundreds of thousands left homeless amid unseasonal rains and unreachable with landslides blocking many mountain roads.
'This was a jolt just like the big one last month, though it was not that long,' said Kathmandu resident Avinav Shrestha. 'I was very scared, though. Anything can happen.'
Strong shaking was also felt across northern India. In the Indian capital of New Delhi, people scrambled outdoors while buildings swayed.
Across the Nepalese border in Tibet's Jilong and Zhangmu regions, the Earth shook strongly. Tremors were also felt slightly in the Tibetan capital, Lhasa.
'Rocks fell from the mountains,' Jilong county government vice chief Wang Wenxiang was quoted as saying by China News Service. 'There might be some houses collapsed or damaged. We are now checking on the condition of the people.'
Describing the fear and panic among the local population, Ms Neupane said: 'The streets are completely chaotic. Blaring horns, people standing in the middle of the street... Chaos has ensued. Ambulances on road. Hope many don't die'
Nepalese military personnel stand amid the rubble of a collapsed building in the centre of Kathmandu following Tuesday's earthquake
Fear: Thousands of people in Kathmandu rushing out in to the streets following the massive quake
Scene of destruction: A Nepalese woman sits outdoors in the already damaged town Bhaktapur, Nepal after a second quake Tuesday
Making contact: A man speaks on his mobile phone in central Kathmandu following the earthquake in Nepal
Mountaineers seeking to scale the world's tallest peak have called off this year's Everest season.
The quake came just hours after the Nepalese army rescued 117 people - including two U.S. citizens who had been searching for a missing relative - who had been stranded in trekking villages after the April 25 quake.
The 115 Nepalis and two Americans were evacuated from Syanjen, Kenjing and Langtang Village, where hundreds of people were killed in a huge landslide and avalanche triggered by last month's earthquake.
All of those rescued by the Nepalese Army Tuesday morning were stranded in the three popular trekking villages in Rasuwa district.
A series of avalanches and bad weather in the area had slowed the military's efforts to reach those cut off after the April 25 quake. It is not known how today's tremors affected the mission.
'The entire Langtang Valley has turned into a rocky and snowy ruin due to avalanches,' said Uddhav Bhattarai, Rasuwa's district administrator.
Shock: The U.S. Geological Survey said the quake had a magnitude of 7.3 and struck 42 miles west of the town of Namche Bazar, close to Mount Everest. As this report suggests, for a short time the quake was recorded as 7.4
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RAF HELICOPTERS SENT TO HELP EARTHQUAKE VICTIMS ARE BARRED FROM ENTERING NEPAL
Nepal has denied entry to three British Chinook helicopters sent to aid the earthquake effort - amid fears they could damage buildings when landing.
The RAF aircraft arrived in New Delhi, India last week ahead of plans to fly them across the border and join the international rescue operation.
But the Nepalese foreign ministry has refused permission for them to enter the quake-hit country with a spokesman suggesting they are too big to land near houses.
The spokesman, Tara Pokharel, added: 'We have told the British authorities that they cannot fly their Chinook helicopters here because our technical team says they are likely to damage the houses and other buildings in the Kathmandu valley.
'We are worried about broken windows and roofs being blown off by these big helicopters.'
It comes as a second major earthquake hit an isolated area of Nepal today near the Chinese border between the capital, Kathmandu, and Mount Everest.
Britain flew the helicopters out from RAF Brize Norton in transporter aircraft on April 30.
According to the Times, the RAF had planned to transport the helicopters to Kathmandu for reassembly - but when it became clear Nepal's only international airport was too damaged, they were diverted to India.
The 7.8 magnitude earthquake on April 25 killed more than 8,000 people and left thousands more homeless and in desperate need of food, clean water and shelter.
Getting relief to the worst-hit villages is a huge challenge because many are in remote mountainous terrain that is only accessible by helicopter or on foot.
India, China and the United States have sent helicopters and are helping take food, water and tents to affected communities.
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Destruction: Tuesday's earthquake comes just weeks after a devastating quake (pictured) killed more than 8,000 people and destroyed hundreds of thousands of homes
US Marine Helicopter with Six U.S. Marines on Board Disappears in Nepal while Providing Earthquake Relief after Second Quake that Killed at Least 68
- The UH-1Y Huey with two Nepalese soldiers and six U.S. Marines on board disappeared over Charikot, Nepal on Tuesday
- A military official said that there is 'no indication that there was a crash' but that 'it is so dark' so they could not confirm that
- According to the Pentagon there were reports of 'fuel issues' before the helicopter went missing
- The helicopter was one of three Marine Corps UH-1Y Hueys participating in earthquake relief operations following last month's 7.8 magnitude tremor
- The aircraft is part of Marine Light Attack Helicopter Squadron 469
- Charikot was one of the villages hardest hit by a 7.3 magnitude quake on Tuesday
- The U.S. Geological Survey said Tuesday's earthquake was the largest aftershock to date of the destructive quake in April
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MISSING: US MARINE CORPS HELICOPTER THAT WAS PROVIDING ASSISTANCE FOLLOWING SECOND NEPAL QUAKE
Missing: Nepalese service members load relief supplies into a US Marine Corps UH-1Y Venom from Joint Task Force 505 at Sindhuli, Nepal on May 11 - a day before one of the same aircraft went missing
US officials say a UH-1Y Huey with two Nepalese soldiers and six US Marines on board has disappeared over Charikot, Nepal. Their identities have not been revealed.
The helicopter was one of three Marine Corps UH-1Y Hueys participating in earthquake relief operations following last month's 7.8 magnitude tremor.
A 90-minute search by three Marine Corps V-22 tilt-rotor aircraft failed to locate the aircraft before nightfall and the air search was suspended. A ground search by Nepalese troops was continuing, US Army Col. Steve Warren said.
'Essentially what we have right now is truly a missing helicopter. We simply don't know its location,' Warren said, noting that the area is 'rugged and mountainous' and any radio transmissions from the helicopter might not be heard due to the mountains.
Warren said an Indian helicopter working in the quake zone had overheard radio chatter from the US helicopter about 'fuel issues' before it went missing.
He said it was not clear whether the helicopter might have been low on fuel or if there was a problem with its fuel lines.
'The UH-1 had launched to deliver tarps and rice,' Warren added.
'Because of the terrain [it] had not been in contact for approximately two hours. No emergency beacon has been detected at this time.'
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