Nepal's Home Ministry says the death toll from yesterday's devastating earthquake has reached 1805.
The latest toll puts the overall regional fatalities at 1865 and at least 4700 people have been injured in the magnitude 7.8 earthquake.
An avalanche triggered by the quake yesterday swept across Nepal's Mount Everest region, killing at least 18 climbers and guides, and slamming into a section of the mountaineering base camp.
Numerous climbers may now be cut off on routes leading to the top of the world's highest peak.
Lachlan Davis, of Wellington, was in the Himalayas on his way down from Mount Everest when everything began to "roar", he said.
He had been at base camp just two days before.
"The quake shook the mountains an incredible amount and it came with a massive long roar which was multiple land slides and avalanches at once.
"[It] was definitely the most intense quake I've felt and I live in Wellington."
Mr Davis said his group passed numerous people on the trail to Everest because it was peak trekking and climbing season.
They were now in Namche and were trying to get back to Kathmandu to get their bags and get on the first plane out, he said.
"The path ahead of us was damaged by landslides so we were lucky where we were," Mr Davis said.
"Given the state of the trail at certain points I think it likely some tourist climbers and trekkers would have died or been injured."
New Zealander Guy Cotter of Adventure Consultants was leading a party of seven Kiwis on Mt Everest.
Adventure Consultants operations manager Caroline Blaikie confirmed the group was safe at Camp One but said others in the area needed help.
Ms Blaikie said the company contacted the group via satellite phone.
"There's limited communication with the Nepalese cellphone networks as well."
Landlines were available in lower valleys.
"Right now at Everest Base Camp the key need is for helicopters to be evacuating casualties from there. That's underway at the moment."
She said other camps in the area were devastated and people needed clothes and other e
Ms Blaikie understood Mr Cotter witnessed several avalanches after the quake, and it must have been a terrifying experience
This afternoon it was confirmed that two Nepali staff of Adventure Consultants have died as a result of the avalanche.
The New Zealand-based Mt Everest guiding company said the Everest Base Camp avalanche appeared to have been caused by a large chunk of ice being dislodged by the earthquake.
Steve Moffat, the Wanaka-based company's New Zealand operations manager, said from Wanaka he understood the avalanche consisted of a "massive blast" of powder snow triggered ice falling off Pumori and Lingtren, mountains that rise above the base camp in the Khumbu Glacier.
International media reports vary, some saying 10 and one that at least 17 people have died at the base camp.
Adventure Consultants has now lost five staff at Everest in two seasons. Three of its local staff were killed in the Everest avalanche which killed 16 Nepalese last April.
In addition to its base camp contingent, the company has 10 climbers and four guides, including expedition leader Guy Cotter, at Camp 1 at 5900m just above the Khumbu icefall.
Mr Moffat said all those at Camp 1 were safe and well. It was still early in the Everest climbing season and no teams had gone above Camp 1 yet.
"I know there's a lot of supplies at Camp 1 and Camp 2 so the people up there, there's numerous teams up there right now, they are safe where they are and they have food and fuel to survive."
"I imagine areas of the Khumbu icefall will have been affected by the ground shaking causing damage to the route they take. As far as I know no one is attempting to drop from Camp 1 at this stage."
"It's fine weather this morning Nepal time," Mr Moffat said at 3.30pm today. "I believe a rescue helicopter had made it into base camp and I would imagine picking up injured people."
'Eerily quiet' on city streets
Prue Smith - general manager of the Himalayan Trust New Zealand - is in Katmandu.
She has just come back from the mountains where she has been visiting a lot of villages before the earthquake.
At 6.30 am Nepal time, she said there had been continuing aftershocks and she was awake most of the night.
"It's early morning here, but it's eerily quiet. Most people have slept outside but there is little traffic on the road, as you would normally see.
"We are waiting to check in with the people in our communities up in the mountains to find out the level of damage.
"The trust has 67 schools that we directly support so I'm fully expecting that there will be some damage. I expect we will be launching an appeal.
"But I have no internet access and communications are a real problem."
Kerikeri woman Lucy Dunn said she was on the fourth floor of her hotel in Pokhara when the "absolutely massive" quake hit.
She hiked down from base camp on Thursday and said it was lucky she had got to the village of Pokhara where there was no real visible damage.
Friends she had hiked with were in Kathmandu sleeping in a tent because the roof of their hotel had collapsed in the quake, she said.
"We hid in a door frame after realising we were maybe too high up to get down. When it slowed we grabbed our stuff and ran down. Everyone was out on the streets.
"We didn't go back into our hotel until night time and have slept in the lobby by the door all night. [We've] not slept a wink actually but lay here for a quick escape in case."
Kiwis safe and well
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (Mfat) has confirmed the well-being of just over 100 New Zealanders in Nepal following a devastating 7.8 magnitude quake yesterday, killing more than 1400 people across four countries.
A statement from Mfat said the New Zealand High Commission and Honorary Consul in Nepal continued to seek information about the welfare and whereabouts of any New Zealanders in the affected area.
Communication networks in the affected area, including in Kathmandu, have been disrupted following the earthquake, making it difficult to contact New Zealanders, Mfat said.
The Nepalese Government has declared a state of emergency in affected areas and appealed for international assistance after the severe quake destroyed homes, businesses and temples in Kathmandu and the densely-populated surrounding areas.
Officials confirmed that more than 1400 people have died as rescue teams continue to search for survivors who are feared to be trapped under rubble. The death toll is expected to rise.
Yesterday's quake collapsed houses, toppled centuries-old temples and cut open roads in the worst tremor in the Himalayan nation in more than 80 years.
Kiwi party safe on Everest
The violent quake also triggered avalanches on Mt Everest. One swept through base camp killing at least 18 people. At least seven New Zealanders in a party led by Guy Cotter of Adventure Consultants are on the mountain.
Last night, Adventure Consultants operations manager Caroline Blaikie confirmed the group was safe at Camp One.
"We believe there has been some major damage in Everest base camp itself from an avalanche that came off Pumori nearby.
"We don't have confirmation of the situation regarding casualties or what exactly has happened in base camp however, we do know our base camp manager and other base camp staff we have there from New Zealand and the US are safe."
A Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade spokesperson told the Herald on Sunday that the New Zealand High Commission in New Delhi and the Honorary Consul in Nepal were attempting to reach 99 New Zealanders those registered with SafeTravel.
"Communications infrastructure is likely to have been damaged by the earthquake and it could take some time for communications to be restored."
Kiwi experiences
Prue Smith, the general manager of the Himalayan Trust NZ, was holed up in a car park after the quake struck 81km northwest of Kathmandu on Saturday.
"It was absolutely awful. It was an ongoing rolling and rumbling and shaking," she told NZ Newswire.
"I'm not from Christchurch but I now completely understand - it was the most unpleasant experience."
Smith was sitting in the garden of a hotel with friends in Thamel, a part of Kathmandu popular with tourists, when the earthquake struck.
"Rubble came down from the buildings and from the walls around us," she said.
Smith said some buildings had collapsed and people were being dug out of the rubble.
Kiwi journos in Nepal
Three Kiwi journalists spoke of diving under a table as plaster and other items fell around them. Fairfax journalists Mike Scott and Matt Rilkoff, and Waikato Times chief photographer Peter Drury were in a restaurant near Kathmandu's largest Buddhist temple when the quake struck.
Scott described the terrifying moments. "It went on for about a minute and it was f ***** g scary," he told stuff.co.nz
The trio saw a blood-soaked monk being carried out of the building, thousands of people standing in the road and collapsed buildings.
New Zealand has a close relationship with Nepal.
The Himalayan Trust NZ was founded by Sir Edmund Hillary, who conquered Mt Everest in 1953 with Nepali Tenzing Norgay.
More than 4000 climbers have scaled the 8,850-meter (29,035-foot) summit since 1953. The numbers have skyrocketed in recent years, with more than 800 climbers during the 2013 spring season.
Following a 2014 avalanche that killed 16 guides, guides accused Nepal's government of not doing enough for them despite making millions in permit fees from Western mountaineers who attempt to scale the Himalayan peaks. The guides protested by refusing to work on the mountain, leading to the cancellation of last year's climbing season.
Information for Kiwis from MFAT
The New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MFAT) recommended in a statement that any Kiwis in Nepal should follow orders from local authorities, or from their hosts.
Anyone concerned about New Zealand citizens in Nepal should first try to contact themselves via text message. For ongoing concerns, they should contact the ministry on (04) 439 8000.
New Zealanders in Nepal requiring consular assistance should contact New Zealand High Commission India at +91 11 4688 3170, or via email at nzhcindia@gmail.com.
Australians in Nepal
Family members are using social media to find Australian Ballantyne Forder, 20, who was working in a number of orphanages around the country near where the 7.8 magnitude quake hit.
Ms Forder's sister, Amanda-Sue Markham, shared a number of pictures on Twitter and made a plea for help.
"My sister at centre of earthquake was working in a baby's orphanage," she said.
"Last heard of nine hours ago. If you know how to pray, please do so for the safety of my sister."
Another sister, Priscilla-Anne Forder said the family was desperate for news.
"She's been in Kathmandu and Pokhara but we don't know where exactly she is right now," Ms Forder told News Corp Australia.
"The family is sitting around the computer trying to get in touch and just looking for information.
"She's been over there working at baby orphanages for seven weeks. She gave everything up to over there and help the kids."
Ms Forder was due home in Australia at the end of May.
There were also fears for a teenage adventurer trying to become the youngest Australian to climb Mount Everest, however she is reportedly safe.
A message posted to Alyssa Azar's Facebook page said the 18-year-old was on the mountain at the time, but had returned to base camp.
'Alyssa has contacted us and let us know that she was out climbing when this happened but is back at Base Camp now safe and sound,' the post reads. 'She is feeling good and waiting to see what results come from this.'
It is believed Foreign Minister Julie Bishop will make a statement on other Australians potentially caught in the disaster once more detailed information is available.
Several hundred Australians registered with their Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) as travelling in Nepal.
By Cherie Howie of The Herald on Sunday
