Nepal asks India and 33 other countries to pull out rescue teams

Reports said teams from Japan, Turkey, Ukrain, UK and Netherlands have begun to pull out.

The foreign ministry said on Monday that the Nepal government had asked countries to remove their "first response" teams as the focus is now on relief, rather than rescue.

"As such, Nepal has asked all rescue teams from 34 nations to withdraw. They now need rubble removal equipment and have asked India for help, an army engineering team will be going," the ministry has been quoted as saying.

India's National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) has the largest presence in Nepal; 16 teams of nearly 50 personnel each are involved in the Herculean rescue efforts mounted after the April 25 earthquake that left more than 7,200 people dead, tens of thousands injured and scores of thousands homeless.

Nepal has  given up hope of finding any more survivors, though its Prime Minister Sushil Koirala had said that the toll might to up to 15,000.

"In the disaster relief framework, there are standard operating procedures, clear cut directives, that you slowly leave and the state has the resilience to get back on its own feet," Nepal's Army Chief General Gaurav SJB Rana said in an interview to NDTV.

He dismissed speculation about India's "big brotherly presence," saying that India had shown that it is a "real friend" of Nepal.