Nepal quake death toll becomes highest on record; dozens still missing

A boy clears rubble from his home during a landslide after Tuesday's earthquake at Singati Village, in Dolakha, Nepal, May 15, 2015. Picture taken May 15. REUTERS/Athit Perawongmetha

KATHMANDU (Reuters) - The number of people killed in Nepal by two major earthquakes has surpassed 8,500, making the disaster the deadliest to hit the Himalayan country on record, as rescuers on Sunday searched for dozens of people still missing in remote villages.

A 7.8-magnitude earthquake hit Nepal on April 25, killing thousands and demolishing more than half a million homes, most of them in rural areas cut off from emergency medical care.