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Nepal earthquake kills at least 140, toll could rise, officials say-UPDATED-2

04 November 2023 08:11 (UTC +04:00)

At least 140 people were killed and dozens injured in Nepal when a strong earthquake struck the western area of Jajarkot, officials said on Saturday, as houses in the area collapsed and buildings as far as New Delhi in neighbouring India shook, APA reports citing Reuters.

The quake occurred at 11:47 p.m. (1802 GMT) on Friday with a magnitude 6.4, Nepal's National Seismological Centre said. The German Research Centre for Geosciences measured the quake at 5.7, downgrading it from 6.2, while the U.S. Geological Survey pegged it at 5.6.

***04:17

A strong earthquake shook northwestern Nepal districts just before midnight Friday, and officials said at least 69 people were dead and dozens more injured as rescuers searched mountain villages, APA reports citing Reuters.

Officials said early Saturday that the toll was expected to rise, noting that communications were cut off with many places.

The quake, which hit when many people already were asleep in their homes, was felt in India’s capital, New Delhi, more than 800 kilomters (500 miles) away.

The U.S. Geological Survey said the earthquake had a preliminary magnitude of 5.6 and occurred at a depth of 11 miles. Nepal’s National Earthquake Monitoring & Research Center said its epicenter was at Jajarkot, which is about 250 miles northeast of the Nepalese capital, Kathmandu.

***02:14

At least 22 people were killed and dozens injured after a magnitude 6.4 earthquake struck western Nepal on Friday, with witnesses saying houses in the area collapsed and buildings in New Delhi, India, shook, APA reports citing Reuters.

We have not been able to establish any contact at the epicentre in Jajarkot, local official Harish Chandra Sharma said, adding that there are reports of 17 deaths just in the district.

At least 20 people were rushed to hospital with injuries, Jajarkot district official Suresh Sunar told Reuters by phone.

*** 00:25

An earthquake with a magnitude of 6.2 jolted Nepal at 18:02:53 GMT on Friday, the GFZ German Research Centre for Geosciences said, APA reports citing Xinhua.

The epicenter, with a depth of 10.0 km, was initially determined to be at 29.01 degrees north latitude and 82.23 degrees east longitude.