Earthquake: Around 500 dead, tremors felt across North India
The US Geological Survey said the epicentre was at Lamjung in Nepal - a district some 75 km northwest of capital Kathmandu. Images of devastation in Nepal | Live Blog | Video
As many as 500 people were killed in a major earthquake that rocked Nepal on Saturday, a Nepalese official said.
Deputy Chief of Mission of Nepal High Commission in New Delhi, Krishna Prasad Dhakal, told the media that according to local reports reaching here, at least 500 people have been killed across Nepal.
"We are trying to ascertain the exact number (of casualties)," he said.
He also said that the Nepal Prime Minister Sushil Koirala, who had gone to Thailand on an official visit, is cutting short his sojourn and coming back immediately.
Different buildings, including the walls surrounding Nepal's royal palace, collapsed. The strong earthquake shook buildings in the capital, and more casualties are feared. A strong earthquake measuring 7.9 on the Richter scale shook Nepal and several provinces in India, including the national capital, leaving a trail of devastation in the Himalayan nation. Pictures: Images of devastation in Nepal
14 aftershocks felt in a span of 2.5 hours since major 7.9 magnitude earthquake hit #Nepal pic.twitter.com/OEjW8BK3zq UN OCHA Asia Pacific (@OCHAAsiaPac) April 25, 2015
The temblor that occurred at 11:41 am IST, with its epicentre in Nepal, flattened houses, caused huge craters and cracks on roads in the Nepalese capital Kathmandu, and sent people scampering out of their offices and homes.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who is keeping a close watch on the situation, spoke to chief ministers of Bihar and Sikkim. Read Story
"We are in the process of finding more information and are working to reach out to those affected, both at home & in Nepal," he tweeted immediately after the temblor hit several places in India and the neighbouring country.
PM Shri @narendramodi's tweets on the recent #earthquake pic.twitter.com/qE0VwYYmdO MIB India (@MIB_India) April 25, 2015
Videos showed people being pulled out of the rubble of collapsed houses in Kathmandu, though there was no official word on fatalities.
The tremors were so strong that people feared for their lives. Some of them began to pray and tried to get as far away as possible from the buildings. Most ran to open grounds. Many of the high-rises saw The US Geological Survey, which had earlier put the intensity of the quake at 7.5 on Richter Scale, revised it to 7.9. It said the quake hit at 11:56 am local time at Lamjung, a shallow depth of 11 kilometres.
T 1845 - O ! God .. this is Nepal earthquake ..!!! I shot a song here for 'Mahaan' with Zeenat Aman .. pray all well pic.twitter.com/Q8ZcMaB57C Amitabh Bachchan (@SrBachchan) April 25, 2015
Tremors were felt in several provinces in northern, eastern and northeastern parts of India, including national capital New Delhi, over 1100 kilometres from the Nepalese capital.
According to Indian Meteoroligical Department, tremors were felt in Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand, Rajasthan, Haryana and Punjab, lasting for a minute, triggering panic and forcing people to rush out of their homes and offices.
There was no official word about casualties from any of the states but reports from West Bengal said cracks appeared in several multi-storeyed buildings in Siliguri in north Bengal. An incident of wall collapse was reported from Telipara in Jalpaiguri district.
Delhi: Bihar CM Nitish Kumar talks to administration after tremors felt in North Delhi #earthquake pic.twitter.com/mK9pqHeQ35 ANI (@ANI_news) April 25, 2015
Airport at Kathmandu shut down. All flights being diverted to India. 5 flights being diverted to India. Breaking on @HeadlinesToday GAURAV C SAWANT (@gauravcsawant) April 25, 2015
Tremors felt in Bengal
Parts of West Bengal were on Saturday rocked by an earthquake, that had its epicenter in Nepal, causing panic among the people.
"The tremors of the earthquake which had its epicenter in Nepal region was felt here in the city and other parts of the Eastern region. The magnitude of the earthquake on the Richter Scale is 7.5 . We are still waiting for more details," D K Das , a senior official of Kolkata Meteorological department said.
Hundreds of people ran out of their homes and offices and assembled on the streets. The tremors were felt in various parts of the city especially in Lake Town, Salt Lake, Dalhousie and Park street area.
Reports from the districts said it was also experienced in Purulia, Bankura, Burdwan, East Midnapore and Nadia district.
Tremors have been felt in North India too but there are no preliminary reports of damage in India anywhere. Rajnath Singh (@BJPRajnathSingh) April 25, 2015
Earthquake tremors in Delhi. I appeal to people to maintain calm. Officials out in the field to assess the situation. Arvind Kejriwal (@ArvindKejriwal) April 25, 2015
A major earthquake hit the northeastern region on Saturday, an official said.
"A major intensity earthquake measuring 7.7 on Richter scale shook most parts of northeastern states and Nepal, Myanmar and Bangladesh," Tripura meteorological department Director Dilip Saha said in Agartala. "The earthquake occurred at 11.45 a.m. Reports of any loss of life and property is yet to be received," he added.
Disaster management control rooms of Tripura, Mizoram and other states in northeast said there was no immediate report of casualties or damage to property. The met official said the epicentre of the earthquake was in Nepal. "The tremors were also felt in most of the eastern states, Bangladesh and Myanmar," the official said.
The northeastern region, comprising eight states, is considered the sixth major earthquake-prone belt (zone five) in the world.
