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A non-resident UK national is reported to be among the dead following the catastrophic Nepal earthquake and avalanches at Mount Everest.
Dozens of Britons remain unaccounted for as the death toll from Saturday’s quake rose to more than 5,000 with over 10,000 injured.
Nepal’s prime minister Sushil Koirala said that the number of dead could rise to 10,000.
The Foreign and Commonwealth Office has provided assistance to more than 250 people from the UK in Nepal. A further 583 have been accounted for and are safe, according to foreign secretary Philip Hammond.
“This is a work in progress as we do not have a single co-ordinated list of Brits in Nepal,” he said. “ We are working with tour operators to scour hospitals and hotels and other tourist locations.”
Hammond said that Gurkhas were helping to find survivors, adding that further rescue teams were waiting for landing slots at Kathmandu airport.
But difficult weather conditions are hampering the operation.
Search and rescue teams are digging through rubble in urban areas and attempting to reach villages and stranded hikers.