Nepal earthquake: At least 54 dead as 6.4 magnitude quake leaves houses crumbled & locals fleeing for their lives
AT least 54 people were killed and dozens injured after a magnitude 6.4 earthquake struck western Nepal.
Witnesses say houses in the area collapsed and buildings in New Delhi, India, shook.
The quake killed at least 28 people in Rukum district, where numerous houses collapsed, police official Narvaraj Bhattarai said.
Thirty injured people already had been brought to the local hospital, Bhattarai said.
In the neighbouring Jajarkot district, 26 people were confirmed dead, government administration official Harish Chandra Sharma said.
Sharma added: “We have not been able to establish any contact at the epicentre in Jajarkot.”
At least 20 people were rushed to hospital with injuries, Jajarkot district official Suresh Sunar said.
He said: “I am out in the open myself. We are collecting details but due to cold and night it is difficult to get information from remote areas.”
Officials said that the death toll was expected to rise, noting that communications were cut off with many places.
Nepal‘s National Seismological Centre said the quake occurred at 11.47pm (6.02pm GMT) in Jajarkot district of Karnali province.
Jajarkot is about 310 miles west of the capital Kathmandu.
“We have confirmed reports that five people of a family have died in Aathbiskot village. There are reports of more deaths. We cannot confirm that,” Namaraj Bhattarai, a police official in neighbouring Rukum West district said, adding that the police was on the way to the site.
Local media footage showed crumbled facades of multi-storied brick houses.
Tremors were felt in neighbouring districts and as far away as Kathmandu, residents said.
“Houses have collapsed. People rushed out of their homes. I am out in the crowd of terrified residents. We are trying to find details of damages,” police official Santosh Rokka said.
The earthquake shook buildings as far as New Delhi, about 375 miles away, according to witnesses.
Videos on social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter, showed people running into the street as some buildings were evacuated.
The German Research Centre for Geosciences (GFZ) pegged the earthquake at a magnitude of 6.2 and depth of 6.2 miles.
A 7.8-magnitude quake struck Nepal in 2015 killed about 9,000 people and damaged around a million structures.