Nepal Earthquake 2015 Death Toll Update: Number Of Dead Surpasses 8,150 Following Second Major Tremor

nepal-death — A U.S. rescue team member along with a sniffer dog searches for victims on a collapsed house after the earthquake in Kathmandu, Nepal, May 12, 2015. A 7.3-magnitude earthquake struck Nepal on Tuesday, killing more than two dozen people in the Himalayan country and neighboring states, as many buildings already weakened by a much bigger quake last month were brought down. Reuters

More than 8,150 people have been killed and 17,860 people injured in Nepal since April 25, the day a magnitude-7.8 earthquake rattled the country, its largest in over 80 years, according to the Associated Press. The death toll rose Tuesday after a second large quake struck the already battered Himalayan nation, killing at least 36 people, according to the country’s home ministry. Tuesday’s quake was centered in a remote region of Nepal near the Tibet border and Mount Everest, roughly 42 miles west of the town of Namche Bazaar.

"The shaking seemed to go on and on," Rose Foley, a UNICEF official based in Kathmandu, told the AP following Tuesday’s magnitude-7.3 earthquake. "It felt like being on a boat in rough seas. We're thinking about children across the country, and who are already suffering. This could make them even more vulnerable.”

More than 1,000 people were injured, officials said. Some buildings already weakened by the first major quake last month crumbled under the stress of Tuesday’s quake. Rescue workers said they believed more people could be missing or trapped under new rubble.

Many of the victims of Nepal’s recent devastating earthquakes were killed in collapsed buildings in the capital city of Kathmandu or in mountainside villages destroyed by landslides. Some survivors have been afraid to sleep indoors, unnerved that their homes and apartment complexes could fall during aftershocks.

Aid groups are still struggling to reach some remote locations north of Kathmandu affected by the quakes. Rescue teams had to suspend their search for missing residents of Langtang over the weekend because of bad weather. The region was cut off by last month’s earthquake after the massive quake triggered an avalanche that made it difficult for aid agencies to reach the remote area with food and supplies.

"Fresh avalanches are hitting the area continuously," Gautam Rimal, a district official, told Reuters. "Rescuers who were searching for bodies have now moved to safe places."