Rescuers battled Wednesday to reach survivors of a deadly new earthquake in Nepal that triggered landslides and brought down buildings, as the search resumed for a U.S. military helicopter that went missing while delivering aid.

Thousands of traumatized survivors spent the night outdoors, afraid to return to their houses after the 7.3-magnitude quake, which killed dozens of people and hit less than three weeks after the country was devastated by its deadliest quake in more than 80 years.

A U.S. Marine Corps helicopter carrying out earthquake relief in Nepal was reported missing on Tuesday with eight personnel on board, officials said.

"The incident occurred near Charikot, Nepal while the aircraft was conducting humanitarian assistance and disaster relief operations," said Major Dave Eastburn, spokesman for US Pacific Command.

A new earthquake and powerful aftershocks killed dozens of people and brought fresh terror to a traumatized Nepal on Tuesday as buildings already damaged in a monster quake last month came tumbling down.

Weeks after the country's deadliest quake in more than 80 years, terrified residents once again fled onto the streets as houses collapsed and landslides blocked roads, hampering the relief effort.

Rescue workers battled landslides to deliver medical aid to isolated villages in the foothills of Nepal's Himalayas on Monday, an AFP journalist at the scene said, two weeks after a devastating earthquake hit the country.

Villagers rushed to a helicopter being used by aid workers after it landed in far-flung villages in Gorkha district, along the popular Manaslu trekking route, desperate for medical supplies that have failed to reach them so far.

Janaki Karmacharya sits on a plastic chair under the tarpaulin that now serves as her office and despairs at the wreckage of her once magnificent library in the heart of Kathmandu.

Until last month's earthquake, the Kaiser Library buzzed with Nepali students, intellectuals and tourists attracted by its collection of rare books, maps and ancient manuscripts -- all housed in an opulent former palace.

Nepal's government said Sunday it has denied entry to three British military helicopters sent to help the earthquake relief effort because of fears they could damage buildings when landing.

A foreign ministry spokesman said the Chinook helicopters, which arrived in New Delhi last week en route to the quake-hit country, were too big to land.

Mount Everest record holder Apa Sherpa ran for his life when a huge earthquake hit Nepal, and now fears for the future after the disaster cut short the climbing season for the second year in a row.

"Everyone here is scared and depressed, we have lost everything," the climber told AFP by telephone from Thame, deep in the Everest region, one of the villages that is home to the Sherpa ethnic group.

The United Nations said Friday it had received just $22 million of the $415 million it had appealed for in Nepal following the recent earthquake, and called for aid contributions to be "dramatically ramped up".

Jamie McGoldrick, U.N. resident coordinator for Nepal, warned of a race against time to deliver relief supplies to remote areas -- some of which are accessible only on foot -- before heavy monsoon rains arrive, expected in June.

Dressed all in white and with their heads shaved, survivors of a Nepalese earthquake that killed more than 7,800 people ended 13 days of mourning Thursday as the broken capital began picking up the pieces.

As authorities released figures showing nearly 300,000 homes were destroyed by the quake nationwide, mourners gathered around a Hindu temple in Kathmandu for a series of ceremonies that would conclude at dusk.

Human traffickers could try to target vulnerable women and children displaced by a devastating earthquake in Nepal, campaigners warned on Wednesday.

The deadly earthquake that struck on April 25 killed thousands of people and made many more homeless.