Nepal earthquake: Strong tremors felt across northern India. Top updates

 

Nepal earthquake: The quake hit at a depth of 10 km. It occurred at a latitude of 28.84 N and a longitude of 82.19 E.

A 6.4 magnitude earthquake hit Nepal's Lamidanda area in Jajarkot district. Tremors were felt across several north Indian cities, including the Delhi-NCR region, at around 11.30 pm.

People rushed out of their homes as tremors were felt in Lucknow on Friday night.(Deepak Gupta/Hindustan Times)

The earthquake hit at a depth of 10 km, the National Center for Seismology (NCS) said. It occurred at a latitude of 28.84 N and a longitude of 82.19 E. This is the third time in a month that strong quakes have struck Nepal.

Here are the top updates:

· Nepal's National Earthquake Monitoring & Research Center said the earthquake's epicentre was at Jajarkot, which is about 250 miles northeast of the Nepalese capital, Kathmandu.

· According to officials, at least 128 people have lost their lives and 140 others have been injured.

·   Strong tremors were felt across several north Indian states, including Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and the Delhi-NCR region.

·  In a post on X, Nepal Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal expressed his deep sorrow over the loss of lives. His office said that he has directed security agencies for immediate rescue and relief of those injured.

· Local officials have not been able to make contact with the Jajarkot village where the epicentre is and has a population of 190,000. Police official Namaraj Bhattarai told Reuters: “Rescue and search teams have to clear roads blocked by dry landslides due to the earthquake to reach the affected areas”

·  In Jajarkot district, 17 people were confirmed dead, a government administration official, Harish Chandra Sharma, told AP. The quake killed at least 20 people in Nepal's Rukum district where several houses have been collapsed, police official Narvaraj Bhattarai told AP.

·    Communications have been cut off with many villages in Nepal, AP reports.

·   The Jajarkot district official Suresh Sunar told Reuters that at least 20 people have been injured and were rushed to a hospital. He said, “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. We have mobilized rescue personnel.”

·      Police official Santosh Rokka told Reuters, “Houses have collapsed. People rushed out of their homes. I am out in the crowd of terrified residents. We are trying to find details of damages.”