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 There were reports of devastation in outlying areas of the
Himalayan country after the quake struck with a magnitude of 7.9,
its epicenter 50 miles (80 km) east of Nepal's second largest city,
Pokhara.
The worst quake to hit the impoverished Himalayan nation in 81 years
also caused damage in neighboring Indian states and Bangladesh. The
quake was shallow, intensifying the amount of energy released over a
relatively small area.
A police spokesman said the death toll had reached 449 in Nepal
according to an initial estimate, most from the Kathmandu Valley.
There was little information coming from the outlying areas of the
mountainous country and helicopters were circling overheard to get a
better sense of the damage.
"Hundreds of people are feared dead and there are reports of
widespread damage to property. The devastation is not confined to
some areas of Nepal. Almost the entire country has been hit," said
Krishna Prasad Dhakal, deputy chief of mission at Nepal’s Embassy in
New Delhi.
A tourism official said eight people were killed by an avalanche
unleashed by the earthquake that swept through the Everest Base Camp
for climbers of the world's highest mountain.
"The toll could go up, it may include foreigners as well as
sherpas," Gyanendra Shrestha said.
A collapse in communications was hampering efforts to launch relief
efforts across Nepal's rugged terrain.
"We are totally cut off from most parts of our country," said Ram
Narayan Pandey of the Nepal Disaster Management Authority, who was
coordinating relief efforts from Kathmandu.
A 1934 quake of magnitude 8.3 in Nepal killed over 8,500 people.
The death toll in northern India rose to at least 12, with six
killed in house collapses in Uttar Pradesh and six more dying in
Bihar further east, according to government officials. One person
died in Bangladesh.
TOWER TOPPLED
A 19th century tower collapsed in Kathmandu when the quake struck
shortly before noon local time. A policeman said that up to 200
people had been trapped there.
The Dharara Tower, built in 1832, was a landmark that had been open
to visitors for the last 10 years and had a viewing balcony.
A stump just 10 meters (33 feet) high was all that was left of the
14-storey structure. Several bodies were brought away from the
ruins.
At the main hospital in Kathmandu, people with broken limbs and arms
were being rushed in for treatment. Crowds and volunteers formed
human chains to clear the way for ambulances to bring in the
injured.
"There are people everyone where in the corridors and out in the
field," said a Reuters reporter.
Television news footage showed people being treated on the streets
outside hospitals and several bodies lying in rows, covered in
blankets.
Kathmandu is home to ancient, wooden Hindu temples. Photographs
posted online showed buildings reduced to rubble, with large cracks
along roads and residents sitting in the street holding babies.
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EVEREST AVALANCHE
The Everest avalanches, first reported by climbers, raised fears for
those on the world's loftiest peak a year after a massive snowslide
caused the deadliest incident yet there.
Romanian climber Alex Gavan said on Twitter that there had been a
"huge avalanche" and "many, many" people were up on the mountain.
"Running for life from my tent," Gavan said. "Everest base camp huge
earthquake then huge avalanche."
Another climber, Daniel Mazur, said Everest base camp had been
"severely damaged" and his team was trapped.
"Please pray for everyone," he said on his Twitter page.
An avalanche in April 2014 just above the base camp on Mount Everest
killed 16 Nepali guides. April is one of the most popular times to
scale Everest before rain and clouds cloak the mountain at the end
of next month.
FAR AND WIDE
Tremors were felt as far away as New Delhi and other northern cities
in India, with reports that they had lasted up to a minute.
"Massive tremors have been felt here in Delhi and several other
parts of India," said a newsreader on NDTV in Delhi.
"You can see pictures of our Delhi studios, where the windows
rattled and everything shook for a very long time, for a minute
perhaps or longer," she said as footage showed studio ceiling camera
lights shaking.
The U.S. Geological Survey said the quake, initially measured at 7.7
but upgraded to 7.9 magnitude, struck 80 km (50 miles) east of
Pokhara. It was only 2 km deep.
"We are in the process of finding more information and are working
to reach out to those affected, both at home and in Nepal," tweeted
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
He convened a high-level meeting with ministers and top officials to
assess the situation. There were no preliminary reports of damage
anywhere in India, Home Minister Rajnath Singh told the Press Trust
of India.
(Reporting by Gopal Sharma and Ross Adkin in Kathmandu, Andrew
MacAskill, Mayank Bhardwaj and Krist Mahr in New Delhi, Sharat
Pradhan in Lucknow, Manoj Chaurasia in Patna and Serajul Quadir in
Dhaka; Writing by Sanjeev Miglani and Douglas Busvine; Editing by
Mark Heinrich)
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