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A Nepali-French search and rescue team pulled a 28-year-old man, Rishi Khanal, from a collapsed apartment block in the Nepalese capital of Kathmandu on Tuesday after he had spent around 80 hours in a room with three dead bodies.

Mr. Khanal appeared to have had no access to food or water during his ordeal, which began at midday on Saturday when a 7.9 magnitude earthquake hit Nepal, destroying buildings and killing at least 4,600 people.

“It seems he survived by sheer willpower,” said Akhilesh Shrestha, a doctor who treated him.

Mr. Khanal had been on the second floor of a seven-storey building when the quake struck. The top floors were intact and the teams drilled down to him after he shouted for help and responded to questions in Nepali.

The rescue took five hours.

Mr. Khanal had just finished lunch at a hotel in Kathmandu and had gone up to the second floor when everything suddenly started to move and fall apart. He was struck by falling masonry and trapped with his foot crushed under rubble.

“I had some hope but by yesterday I’d given up. My nails went all white and my lips cracked ... I was sure no one was coming for me. I was certain I was going to die,” he told The Associated Press from his hospital bed on Wednesday, surrounded by his family.

“There was no sound going out, or coming in. I kept banging against the rubble and finally someone responded and came to help. I hadn’t eaten or had anything to drink so I drank my own urine.”

It was not clear if he was a hotel employee or a guest.

“It feels good. I am thankful,” he said. He was taken away for surgery before more details could be obtained.

More than 5,000 people are known to have died and over 10,000 injured in the Nepal earthquake. There were also deaths in India, Tibet and Bangladesh.

Doctor Ritesh Goel, a saviour at 17,500 feet

For some 70 climbers at an Everest base camp that shook in the devastating earthquake in Nepal, Captain Ritesh Goel, an Army doctor, was a saviour from death.

Captain Goel, 28, from Bengaluru, who joined the Army six years ago, was part of a 30-member Army expedition team to the Everest. His stint in the Siachen came in handy in tackling the hostile conditions. He provided first-aid and stabilised the condition of nearly 70 climbers who had fractured their legs and hands and attended to eight persons with serious head injuries for about 14 hours before rescue helicopters arrived.

“There was a massive avalanche,” Major-General Ajay Sah told presspersons at the Army headquarters here. “There was utter chaos at the base camp situated at a height of 17,500 ft because an avalanche had engulfed a huge part of it.”

“Fortunately, our team had taken basic precautions and had undertaken counter-avalanche drills such as posting a lookout. The team was able to get out of the tents in time,” he said.

Nepal earthquake: Their dreams were reduced to rubble

For thousands of Indian citizens living in Kathmandu, a life in the city is now unimaginable after witnessing two earthquakes on consecutive days. Lined up in long queues outside the Tribhuvan airport, they wait restlessly for Indian planes to take them out of the country.

Aside from tourists looking for a way home, many of the people here say they were working and had built lives in Kathmandu. Some are even students from India who had got admission to colleges here.

“I have only been here for about two and half months after getting admission in a medical course here, says Satish Mohanty from Odisha. He says his plan was to study and find a job in Kathmandu but now wants to go back to Odisha as soon as possible.

Several families gathered at the airport say they have been in Kathmandu for a number of years and had built lives here. When the quakes struck, they left their homes with just a few bags and are too scared now to go back. “It’s better we start over again in India where our relatives can help us,” says Anureet Singh, a shopkeeper who had moved to Nepal about 10 years ago. According to an Indian embassy spokesperson, about 3,500 Indians have been airlifted out of Nepal as of Tuesday afternoon. The priority, he said, was to first take women, children, senior citizens as well as tourists in distress — or those who don’t have anywhere to live now.

People who do not come under this category are now being encouraged to go to Kalanki from where buses are going to Gorakhpur in Uttar Pradesh. As of Tuesday night about 80 buses with 4,000 people have already left.

The Indian government has also offered an on-arrival visa to nationals of 43 countries who want to leave Nepal. They will be given a one-time entry visa and can stay in India for one month.