Hungry and desperate villagers rushed towards relief helicopters in remote areas of Nepal on Tuesday, begging to be airlifted to safety, four days after a monster earthquake killed more than 5,000 people.

"The ground keeps shaking, even this morning it did. Every time it feels like we will be swallowed, that we will die now. I want to get out of here!" said Sita Gurung, 24, whose home has been wrecked.

 

As Prime Minister Sushil Koirala said getting help to remote areas was a "major challenge", aid finally began reaching areas that had to fend for themselves since Saturday's 7.9-magnitude quake.

In a televised address late Tuesday, Koirala declared three days of national mourning for the 5,057 people known to have perished in Nepal alone.