At least 150 dead after shallow M5.6 earthquake

At least 150 dead after shallow M5.6 earthquake in Nepal

More than 150 people have been killed after an earthquake struck remote western Nepal on Friday.

Security forces have been deployed to help rescue efforts in the rugged districts of Jajarkot and West Rukum, 500km (310 miles) west of Kathmandu.

Strong tremors were felt far away in the Nepalese capital and in cities in neighbouring India, including Delhi.

The army spokesman said more than 100 people had been injured. Jajarkot’s hospital is packed with the wounded.

“People are scared and staying outdoors,” Rabi KC, mayor of Aathbiskot municipality told BBC.

He said that they felt a very strong jolt at midnight and people rushed outdoors. “Hundreds of mud houses have been completely damaged. We are engaged in rescue and relief efforts.”

Three more tremors were felt within an hour of the quake, and many people have spent the rest of the night in the open because of fear of further quakes and damage to their houses.

Video footage on local media showed crumbled facades of multi-storied brick houses. People were pictured digging through rubble in the dark to pull survivors from the remains of collapsed buildings in posts on social media.

Unicef Nepal said that they were assessing the damage and the toll of the disaster on children and families.

Nepal’s Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal arrived in the affected region on Saturday, after expressing his “deep sorrow” at the loss of life and property wrought by the quake, on social media platform X. He said he had ordered security agencies to immediately launch rescue and relief operations.

But those search and rescue operations are being hampered by roads becoming blocked by landslides that were triggered by the quake.

The police chief of Jajarkot district Suresh Sunar told the Reuters news agency it was difficult to get a full picture of what had happened.

“I am out in the open myself. We are collecting details but due to cold and night it is difficult to get information from remote areas,” Mr Sunar told Reuters.

“Houses have collapsed. People rushed out of their homes. I am out in the crowd of terrified residents,” said another police official from the region, Santosh Rokka, who spoke to Reuters immediately after the earthquake.