At least 70 people were killed and hundreds injured when a magnitude-6.4 earthquake shook northwestern Nepal late Friday, government officials said.
With rescuers only beginning to reach the mountainous villages where the earthquake struck, officials cautioned that the death toll was likely to rise, as daylight better revealed the extent of the devastation and as communication was restored with areas that have been cut off.
The earthquake hit near midnight, when people were sleeping. Tremors were also felt in India’s capital, New Delhi, hundreds of miles away.
“So far, 34 deaths have been confirmed from police and government officials,” said Suresh Sunar, the chief district officer in the district of Jajarkot, the epicenter of the earthquake and about 310 miles west of Kathmandu, the capital.
In Rukum (West), another quake-affected district, 36 deaths were confirmed, with 53 people injured. “Security personnel are mobilized for the rescue operation,” said Hari Prasad Panta, an official in Rukum (West). “We have been focused on saving lives from the midnight.”
Nepal’s prime minister, Pushpa Kamal Dahal, said he has instructed the army and national police forces to be mobilized for rescue and relief operations.
Earthquakes are common in mountainous Nepal. A 7.8 magnitude earthquake in 2015 killed some 9,000 people and damaged about one million structures, causing many billions of rupees in damage in one of the poorest countries in South Asia.
The Associated Press and Reuters contributed reporting.
