At least 128 dead as strong quake rocks north-western Nepal
Helicopters and ground troops rushed to help people hurt in a strong earthquake that shook north-western Nepal districts just before midnight on Friday, killing at least 128 people and injuring dozens dozens more, officials said.
Authorities said the death toll was expected to rise, noting that communications were cut off with many places.
As day broke, rescue helicopters flew into the region to help out and security forces on the ground were digging out the injured and dead from the rubble, Nepal police spokesman Kuber Kadayat said.
Troops were also clearing roads and mountain trails that were blocked by landslides triggered by the earthquake. Helicopters flew in medical workers and medicines to the hospitals there.
Prime minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal also flew in on a helicopter with a team of doctors.
In Jajarkot district, where the quake’s epicentre was, 92 people were confirmed dead and another 55 injured, Mr Kadayat said.
The quake killed at least 36 people in neighbouring Rukum district, where numerous houses collapsed, and at least 85 injured people already had been taken to the local hospital, he said.
Security officials worked with villagers all throughout the night in the darkness to pull the dead and injured from fallen houses.
The quake, which hit when many people already were asleep in their homes, was felt in India’s capital, New Delhi, more than 800 kilometres (500 miles) away.
The US Geological Survey said the earthquake had a preliminary magnitude of 5.6 and occurred at a depth of 11 miles.
Earthquakes are common in mountainous Nepal. A 7.8 magnitude earthquake in 2015 killed some 9,000 people and damaged about 1 million structures.