At least 114 people are so far known to have died in a massive earthquake which hit large parts of Nepal on Saturday, the government said.
‘In Kathmandu 71 have been reported dead so far,’ home ministry spokesman Laxmi Prasad Dhakal told AFP.
A 7.9 magnitude earthquake caused large-scale casualties in Nepal on Saturday, with possibly hundreds of people killed, one of the Himalayan nation’s diplomats said.
‘We have received reports that there is a big loss of property and life in Nepal,’ Krishna Prasad Dhakal, the deputy chief of mission at Nepal’s Embassy in New Delhi, told AFP.
‘Possibly hundreds of people have died in various parts of the country, particularly in Kathmandu and Pokhara’.
A shallow earthquake measuring 7.9 magnitude struck west of the ancient Nepali capital of Kathmandu on Saturday causing buildings to collapse, injuring many and leaving a pall of dust over the city, witnesses said, reports Reuters.
The initial unconfirmed death toll was at least four but could be expected to rise significantly as Kathmandu’s decrepit buildings, crisscrossed by narrow alleys, are home to large families. A 1934 quake of magnitude 8.3 in the impoverished Himalayan nation killed over 8,500 people.
At the main hospital in Kathmandu, people with broken limbs and arms were being rushed in for treatment. It was unclear how many people were injured.
A girl died after a statue fell on her in a park in Kathmandu, a witness said, while another died in India when her house collapsed.
An historic tower built in the 19th century in Kathmandu collapsed, trapping at least 50 people, Nepal media reported.
The Dharara Tower, built in 1832, had been open to visitors for the last 10 years and had a viewing balcony on its eighth floor.
One body was removed from the tower and a second lay further up the road, a Reuters witness said.
A Reuters reporter in Kathmandu said he had seen some buildings collapse and walls of several houses reduced to rubble. ‘Everyone is out in the streets, people are rushing to the hospital,’ the reporter said.
The city is home to ancient, wooden Hindu temples. Photographs posted online showed buildings left in rubble, large cracks along roads and residents sitting in the street holding babies.
Mountaineer Alex Gavan tweeted from Mount Pumori, about 8 km (5 miles) west of Mount Everest, that the quake had caused an avalanche on Everest.
‘Everest base camp huge earthquake then huge avalanche from pumori. Running for life from my tent. Unhurt. Many many people up the mountain,’ tweeted Gavan.
Tremors were felt as far away as New Delhi and other northern cities in India, with reports of tremors lasting almost one minute.
‘Massive tremors have been felt here in Delhi and several other parts of India,’ said a newsreader on NDTV in Delhi.
‘You can see pictures of our Delhi studios, where the windows rattled and everything shook for a very long time, for a minute perhaps or longer,’ she said as footage showed studio ceiling camera lights shaking.
A police officer in the control room of neighbouring Indian state of Bihar said the phone lines were jammed with callers from across the heavily populated state. ‘We don’t know about the casualties, we are flooded with calls’.
The US Geological Survey said the quake, initially measured at 7.7 but upgraded to 7.9 magnitude, struck 80 km (50 miles) east of Pokhara. It was only 2 km deep.
‘We are in the process of finding more information and are working to reach out to those affected, both at home & in Nepal,’ tweeted Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Modi convened a high-level meeting with ministers and top officials to assess the situation. There were no preliminary reports of damage anywhere in India, Home Minister Rajnath Singh told the Press Trust of India.
Nepal emerged in 2006 from a civil war between Maoists rebels and the state that left 17,000 dead. Nepal abolished the monarchy in 2008 and the Maoists laid down their arms.
সরকারি চাকরিতে কোটা ইস্যুতে হাইকোর্ট থেকে সমাধান আসা উচিত: প্রধানমন্ত্রী 
আইএমএফ ঋণের তৃতীয় কিস্তি পেল বাংলাদেশ 
ভেঙে দেওয়া হচ্ছে সাদিক অ্যাগ্রো ফার্ম 
গণতন্ত্র আছে বলেই দেশ এগিয়ে যাচ্ছে: প্রধানমন্ত্রী 
বাংলাদেশ আওয়ামী লীগের পথচলা 
আওয়ামী লীগের ৭৫তম প্রতিষ্ঠাবার্ষিকী 
সবুজ বাংলাদেশ গড়ে তুলুন : প্রধানমন্ত্রী শেখ হাসিনা 
কোরবানির সুস্থ পশু চেনার উপায়, অসুস্থ গরু থেকে সাবধান 
এইডসের গুজবে বিব্রত মমতাজ 
জুনেই ঢাকায় আসতে পারেন নরেন্দ্র মোদি