Rescue workers in Nepal began digging through the rubble of collapsed houses with their hands on Saturday, searching for survivors after the country's worst earthquake in eight years killed 137 people and shook buildings as far away as New Delhi.
The quake struck the Jajarkot region in the west of the Himalayan nation at 11:47 p.m. (1802 GMT) on Friday with a 6.4 magnitude, Nepal's National Seismological Centre said. The German Research Centre for Geosciences measured it at 5.7 and the U.S. Geological Survey at 5.6.
Officials fear the death toll could rise as first responders had reached the hilly area near the epicentre, some 500 km (300 miles) west of the capital Kathmandu, only early on Saturday and began searching for survivors.
“The number of injured could be in the hundreds and the deaths could go up as well,” Jajarkot district official Harish Chandra Sharma told Reuters by phone.
Although the quake's magnitude was not severe, the damage and the death toll would likely be high due to the poor quality of construction in the area and that it struck while people slept, officials said.
Rescue work was expected to be slow as emergency teams must first clear roads blocked by landslides in many places, they said, adding that helicopters and small planes have been asked to be ready to join the effort.
Officials said 99 people were killed in Jajarkot and 38 in neighbouring Rukum West district, both in Karnali province. The epicentre was in the village of Ramidanda.
Three towns and three villages were known to be affected in Jajarkot, which has a population of 190,000 with villages scattered in remote hills, authorities said.
At least 85 people were injured in Rukum West and 55 in Jajarkot, an official in the prime minister's office said.
Local TV channels showed rescuers digging through the rubble with their bare hands looking for survivors in the debris of collapsed houses. Injured people were shown being carried to a rescue helicopter to move them to hospitals.
Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal flew to the area early on Saturday with a 16-member army medical team to oversee search, rescue and relief, his office said.
His office appealed to political parties, social workers and the public to donate funds to help arrange food, water, clothes and tents for the survivors.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi said he was deeply saddened by the loss of lives and damage in Nepal.
“India stands in solidarity with the people of Nepal and is ready to extend all possible assistance. Our thoughts are with the bereaved families and we wish the injured a quick recovery,” he posted on X.
(Inputs from Reuters)
