Intl rescuers race against time; death toll could reach 10,000

Soldiers load relief materials at Lukou International Airport in Nanjing, the capital of East China's Jiangsu province, April 27, 2015. [Photo/Xinhua]

2,000 Chinese tourists return from quake-hit Nepal

About 2,000 Chinese tourists have arrived home, while 400 remained stranded at a airport in quake-hit Kathmandu as airlines race to evacuate them following Saturday's earthquake, said Chinese Embassy in Nepal on Monday.

China's emergency rescue hotline 12308 has been open to Chinese residents who need help in Nepal, said Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Hong Lei on his regular press conference on Monday.

Hong Lei said there were about 4,000 Chinese tourists in Nepal before the earthquake.

Four Chinese nationals in Nepal have died, and another ten were seriously injured. Another 25 residents in Tibet autonomous region have also died, while 58 were injured in the quake.

The death toll from Saturday's earthquake in Nepal has climbed to 4,264 people, including 20 mountaineers, and more than 7,000 others were injured, said the National Emergency Operation Center of Nepal's Home Ministry on Tuesday morning.

China provides satellite images and forecast

Nepal has been in regular update with latest satellite images and weather forecast provided by Chinese Meteorological Administration (CMA), the country's Meteorological Forecasting Division said Tuesday morning.

Nepal has been checking the FY2E image series and the generated forecast of South Asia region round the clock through its receiver in Kathmandu.

"We have direct access to the image and forecast of CMA and we are in regular updates," Subash Rimal, weather expert at Meteorological Forecasting Division, told Xinhua over phone.

According to the Meteorological Forecasting Division, a cloud patch entered to Nepal on Tuesday morning.

"A cloud patch has moved from Uttarkhand side of India to Nepal which can cause partial rainfall in the capital and other parts of nation later in the day," Rimal said.