At least 26 people were killed and over 150 were injured when a big earthquake struck Nepal on Tuesday.Initial reports reaching here said that 19 people were killed in Dolakha district, located about 170 km from here. Dolakha is about 130 km from Kodari, the epicentre of the 7.3 magnitude earthquake that struck in the afternoon.Two five-storeyed buildings collapsed in capital Kathmandu, an official said.Police spokesman Kamal Singh Bam earlier said that four people were killed in Chautara town in Sindhupalchowk district and three people died in capital Kathmandu.He said that the number of deaths is likely to go up as they await news from other areas.
The US Geological Survey said Tuesday’s earthquake was centered 68 km (about 42 miles) west of the town of Namche Bazar, close to Mount Everest and the border with Tibet. A magnitude 7.3 quake, it was felt as far apart as New Delhi and Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh.Residents in the Indian town of Siliguri, near the border with Nepal, said chunks of concrete fell off one or two buildings.People in Kathmandu, panic-stricken after the April 25 quake, rushed outdoors, Reuters reporters said.Parents could be seen clutching children tightly and hundreds of people were frantically trying to call relatives on their mobile phones. Shopkeepers closed their shops and the streets were jammed with people rushing to check on their families.”I’m heading straight home,” said Bishal Rai, a man in his 20s, who said he was trying to contact his family in the north of the capital.The quake’s epicenter was close to Everest Base Camp, which was evacuated after an avalanche triggered by last month’s quake killed 18 climbers. Mountaineers seeking to scale the world’s tallest peak have called off this year’s Everest season.Last month’s quake killed at least 8,046 people and injured more than 17,800. It was recorded at 7.8 magnitude, almost six times stronger than Tuesday’s quake.But a 7.3 magnitude earthquake has the potential to cause significant damage and landslides.The Nepal government was scrambling on Tuesday to assess the damage as the phone network got affected and information was hard to come by.”We are getting messages that many people have vacated their houses and the temporary shelters,” said Ram Prasad Sharma, a home ministry official in Kathmandu. “This is only information we have now.”
