The death toll from Nepal’s youth-led protests has climbed to 51 after authorities recovered previously unreported bodies, police said on Friday.

Police spokesman DIG Binod Ghimire said the dead include an Indian woman, with casualties reported in Kathmandu Valley and other districts.

“The death toll has reached 51 so far, including three police personnel,” he said.

Meanwhile, nine prisoners were killed in prison riots, while at least 13,000 inmates escaped in recent days as unrest swept through the country’s fragile detention system.

Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli resigned on Tuesday after his government’s short-lived social media ban triggered a Gen Z-led uprising that quickly escalated into arson, looting, and deadly confrontations with security forces.

The first day of demonstrations alone left 21 people dead, according to police records.

Former chief justice Sushila Karki has since been proposed by protesters as Nepal’s next prime minister.

President Ram Chandra Paudel is consulting political parties, lawyers, and civil society leaders on how to proceed.

If endorsed, Ms Karki would become Nepal’s first woman prime minister and lead an interim government until new elections.

By Friday afternoon, the Nepal Army had eased the curfew in place since Tuesday night, and life in Kathmandu began to show signs of normalcy.

Soldiers and police, working alongside locals, cleared rubble and doused fires at government buildings damaged in the unrest, including parliament, the president’s office, and the prime minister’s residence.

(dpa/NAN)