Nepal shuts airport to big jets as more bodies are found

Associated Press

KATHMANDU, NEPAL

Runway damage forced Nepalese authorities to close the main airport Sunday to large aircraft delivering aid to millions of people after the massive earthquake, but U.N. officials said the overall logistics situation was improving.

The death toll climbed to 7,276, including six foreigners and 45 Nepalese found over the weekend on a popular trekking route, said government administrator Gautam Rimal. Nepal’s Tourist Police reported that a total of 57 foreigners have been killed in the April 25 quake, and 109 are still missing, including 12 Russians and nine Americans.

The airport’s main runway was closed temporarily to big planes because of damage. It was built to handle only medium-size jetliners, but not the large military and cargo planes that have been flying in aid supplies, food, medicines and rescue and humanitarian workers, said Birendra Shrestha, the manager of Tribhuwan International Airport, located on the outskirts of Kathmandu.

There have been reports of cracks on the runway and other problems at the only airport capable of handling jetliners.

Jamie McGoldrick, the U.N. coordinator for Nepal, said the bottlenecks in aid delivery were slowly disappearing, and the Nepalese government eased customs and other bureaucratic hurdles on humanitarian aid after complaints from the U.N.