At least six people were killed and five others injured when a powerful 6.6-magnitude earthquake struck west Nepal early Wednesday, authorities said.
According to the National Seismological Centre, the earthquake occurred at 2:12 am with its epicentre at Khaptad National Park in Doti district.
Deputy Superintendent of Police Bhola Bhatta, the acting chief at the District Police Office in Doti, said that all the victims were killed by the debris of the houses damaged during the earthquake.
Expressing grief over loss of lives, Nepal Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba tweeted, “Expressing my heartfelt condolences to the families of those who died in the earthquake, which was centered in the Khaptad region of Far West. Also, I have instructed the relevant agencies to arrange immediate and proper treatment of the injured and the victims in the relief and rescue in the affected areas.”
Expressing my heartfelt condolences to the families of those who lost their lives in the earthquake, which was centered in the Khaptad region of Far West. Also, I have instructed the relevant agencies to arrange immediate and appropriate treatment for the injured and the victims in the relief and rescue in the affected areas.
— Sher Bahadur Deuba (@SherBDeuba) November 9, 2022
The earthquake that was felt mildly in Kathmandu and parts of India has also caused damage to dozens of other houses in the district.
Earlier, a 5.7-magnitude tremor was recorded at 9.07 pm and another 4.1- magnitude tremor at 9.56 pm on Tuesday at the same epicentre, according to the Seismological Centre.
In April 2015, a devastating earthquake of 7.8-magnitude rocked Nepal, killing nearly 9,000 people and wounding nearly 22,000 others. It also damaged over 800,000 houses and school buildings.
Tremors were also felt across Delhi NCR and surrounding areas of Ghaziabad and Gurugram and even in Lucknow, jolting people out of their sleep.
The Himalayan region in Uttarakhand and adjoining Nepal has been experiencing earthquakes of lower magnitude for the past couple of days.
Union Minister Meenakashi Lekhi tweeted, “Didn’t want to tweet but one can safely say it did feel like an earthquake!” Congress leader Radhika Khera urged people to “stay alert and stay safe”.
Radio Jockey Raunac said, “It was scary…extremely scary.” The USGS said the epicentre of the earthquake was at 21 km from Dipayal in Nepal.
The region had experienced at least two earthquakes of 4.9 magnitude and 3.5 magnitude late Tuesday evening, the NCS data showed.