Maltese photographer Jan Zammit decided to return to Nepal the minute he heard about the earthquake which killed thousands. He tells Herman Grech the devastation failed to destroy the Nepalese spirit.

Jan Zammit

In a clip he uploaded yesterday, Jan Zammit is seen touring trawling through the destruction in Bhaktapur, Nepal. The place looks like the aftermath of a missile strike. Residents are seen scouring through the rubble trying to salvage any of their belongings. A man is seen carrying a sack, a woman retrieving a pair of scissors.

Towards the end of the clip, an elderly woman is seen reaching out to the 27-year-old Maltese photographer and offering him food and water.

“They have nothing, they lost everything, they’re running out of food, yet they’re still offering me food and water. Nobody beats the Nepalese,” Jan says, through a face mask to protect him from the dust.

A 7.8-magnitude quake struck Nepal on April 25, killing thousands and flattening parts of the impoverished Himalayan nation.

Jan had spent three months in Nepal, before he headed out to India. But he decided to fly back to Kathmandu as soon as he heard about an earthquake whose effects will be felt for years.

“I had fallen in love with the people, the culture, the food and just about everything Nepal has to offer, but mostly I was concerned about the Nepali friends I had made here who I couldn’t get in touch with,” Jan told The Sunday Times of Malta.

The Kathmandu airport was chaotic. On a good day, the airport can barely handle two flights an hour. Now there were cargo and relief planes that flew in by the hour from all around the world in a race against time.

As Jan got into the taxi and headed towards Thamel, the central touristic district of Kathmandu, he couldn’t help but feel anxious about the devastation ahead.

But much to his surprise, the majority of Kathmandu sustained the tremor’s shake.

They have nothing, they lost everything, they’re running out of food, yet they’re still offering me food and water

The city was hit in very specific areas – the buildings that collapsed were mainly structures built from weak material and especially on weak foundations. But since Kathmandu is built in a mountainous basin certain areas were much more fragile than others.

The most devastating loss to Kathmandu was the world-famous Durbar Square, a 1,000-year-old UNESCO World Heritage site.

“The Nepali people have no money. The little they had before the quake is now gone forever... Though hundreds of NGOs as well as search and rescue teams have already arrived in Nepal, they lack manpower to tackle the destruction.”

The real devastation lies in the hundreds of small towns and villages in between the two big cities, which is where the epicentre of the quake was recorded. The worst affected area is an ancient town called Gorkha.

“We are talking about villages built in huge valleys at the base of the Himalayas which were subjected to the worst possible landslides.”

“The Americans arrived on Sunday morning, and Wednesday was the first time they got called into a site... luckily they saved a 15-year-old boy. On Wednesday, the Norwegians saved a female survivor with the help of the French and Israelis.

“Though I’ve seen far too many dead bodies for a lifetime, the mood on the ground is surprisingly positive and optimistic,” Jan said.

The Nepalese have always been happy people, but this tragedy just made them more “incredible”. They have taken matters into their own hands. They built makeshift tents in open areas because they are still scared to sleep inside their homes.

Others simply have no home to go to. “They are scouring what’s left of their homes for any remaining belongings they could find, ranging from sacks of rice, to jewellery, televisions, fridges...”

There is no looting and the situation in the destroyed streets is very calm. During search and rescue operations they adamantly stick behind the police line and do not interfere.

“They are simply worried for their friends and neighbours.” Up until Friday, there was scarce food and water in Kathmandu because shops or restaurants remained closed. Jan intends to go further towards the epicentre of the quake in the coming days.

Facts and figures

• More than 6,200 are known to have died in Nepal alone. Another 75 were killed in India.

• More than 14,000 have been injured across the country.

• 18 climbers died at Mount Everest base camp when the quake sparked an avalanche.

• The United Nations estimates that eight million people have been affected.

• More than 3.5 million people are estimated to be in need of food assistance.

• Nepal’s government said 130,033 houses had been destroyed.

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Jan Zammit’s pictures of the aftermath are being updated on timesofmalta.com.