At least 37 people were killed and dozens injured after a 6.4-magnitude earthquake struck western Nepal on Friday, and witnesses said that homes in the area collapsed and buildings shook in New Delhi, India.
Officials explained early Saturday that the death toll could rise, noting that communications had been cut off with several mountain villages.
The earthquake killed at least 20 people in the Rukum area as a result of the collapse of many houses.
In neighboring Jajarkot district, 17 people were confirmed dead.
The epicenter of the earthquake was in Jajarkot, about 400 kilometers northeast of the Nepalese capital, Kathmandu.
“We were unable to make any contact in the epicenter area of Jajarkot,” local official Harish Chandra Sharma said.
He added that there were reports of 17 deaths in the region, which is home to about 190,000 people.
Suresh Sonar, an official in Jajarkot district, told Reuters by phone that at least 20 people were taken to hospital with injuries.
He added, “I myself am out in the open. We collect information, but because of the cold and the night, it is difficult to obtain information from remote areas.”
The National Seismological Center in Nepal said that the earthquake occurred at 11:47 pm (1802 GMT) in the Jajarkot region, which is located about 500 kilometers west of the capital, Kathmandu.
Footage published by local media showed the dilapidated facades of multi-storey houses.
Residents said that the tremors were felt in neighboring areas and as far away as Kathmandu.
Witnesses from Reuters said that the earthquake shook buildings as far as New Delhi, which is about 600 kilometers away. Video clips on the social media platform X showed people running down a street.
In 2015, two earthquakes that struck Nepal killed about nine thousand people, turned entire cities, centuries-old temples and other historical sites into rubble, and destroyed more than a million homes, costing the economy six billion dollars.
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2023-11-03 22:41:15
