REUTERS
The death toll from the devastating earthquake in Nepal four days ago rose past 5,000 on Wednesday, the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Nepal has reported, according to the BBC’s Russian Service.
"The death toll could go up to 10,000 because information from remote villages hit by the earthquake is yet to come in," Prime Minister Sushil Koirala said.
On Wednesday, the government of Nepal announced three days of mourning for the victims of the quake.
The United Nations said eight million people were affected by the quake and that 1.4 million people were in need of food.
As reported earlier, a powerful earthquake rocked Nepal and sent tremors through northern India on Saturday. Its magnitude was revised down to 7.8 from an earlier estimate of 7.9.