At least 132 dead after powerful earthquake hits Nepal | World Newsthedigitalchaps

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At least 132 have been killed, with the death toll expected to rise (Picture: AP)

At least 132 people have been killed and dozens more injures after a powerful earthquake shook districts in north-western Nepal.

Helicopters and ground troops have rushed to help people trapped under rubble and injured by the 5.6 magnitude quake, which occured just before midnight on Friday.

Communications have been shut off in many places, and authorities say the death toll is expected to rise.

At the regional hospital in the city of Nepalgunj, more than 100 beds were made available and teams of doctors stood by to help the injured.


Mandatory Credit: Photo by Xinhua/Shutterstock (14183570a) This photo taken on Nov. 3, 2023 shows a damaged building after an earthquake in Rukum West district, Nepal. The death toll from a strong, shallow earthquake in western Nepal has risen to 128 as the rescue operation is going on, government officials said on Nov. 4. The 6.4-magnitude quake hit Jajarkot and Rukum West districts in western Nepal at 23:47 local time Friday night (1802 GMT), killing 128 people in the districts and wounding 140 others, Nepal Police spokesman Kuber Kadayat told Xinhua. Nepal Earthquake Death Toll - 04 Nov 2023
The 5.6 magnitude quake shook parts of the remote city of Nepalgunj overnight (Picture: Xinhua/Shutterstock)

‘I was fast asleep when all of a sudden it started shaking violently. I tried to run but the whole house collapsed. I tried escaping but half my body got buried in the debris,’ said Bimal Kumar Karki, one of the first two people to be brought to the hospital.

‘I screamed, but every one of my neighbours were in the same situation and screaming for help. It took nearly half an hour to an hour before rescuers found me.’

The United States Geological Survey said the earthquake had a preliminary magnitude of 5.6 and occurred at a depth of 11 miles.

Nepal’s National Earthquake Monitoring and Research Centre said its epicentre was at Jajarkot, which is about 250 miles north-east of the Nepalese capital, Kathmandu.


Damaged houses lie in ruins, in the aftermath of an earthquake at Pipaldanda village of Jajarkot district on November 4, 2023. At least 132 people were killed in an overnight earthquake that struck a remote pocket of Nepal, officials said on November 4, as security forces rushed to assist with rescue efforts. (Photo by Balkumar Sharma / AFP) (Photo by BALKUMAR SHARMA/AFP via Getty Images)
Damaged houses lie in ruins in the aftermath of an earthquake at Pipaldanda village of Jajarkot district on November 4, 2023 (Picture: AFP)

Survivors are seen at a corridor of the Jajarkot district hospital in the aftermath of an earthquake in Jajarkot on November 4, 2023. More than 60 people were killed when a shallow 5.6-magnitude earthquake hit a remote pocket of Nepal, officials said early on November 4. The tremor hit the far west of the Himalayan country late Friday and was measured by the US Geological Survey at just 18 kilometres (11 miles) deep. (Photo by Balkumar Sharma / AFP) (Photo by BALKUMAR SHARMA/AFP via Getty Images)
More than 100 hospital beds have been made available for survivors (Picture: Getty)

As day broke on Saturday, rescue helicopters flew into the region to help out and security forces on the ground were digging out the injured and dead from the rubble, Nepal police spokesperson Kuber Kadayat said.

Troops were clearing roads and mountain trails that were blocked by landslides triggered by the earthquake. Helicopters flew in medical workers and medicine to hospitals in the area.

Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal also flew in on a helicopter with a team of doctors. Mr Dahal led an armed communist revolt in 1996-2006 that began from the districts that were hit by the quake.

In the district of Jajarkot some 92 people were confirmed dead and 55 others injured, Mr Kadayat said. The quake killed at least 36 people in the neighbouring district of Rukum, where numerous houses collapsed, and at least 85 injured people were taken to the local hospital, he said.

Security officials worked with villagers all through the night in the darkness to pull the dead and injured from fallen houses.

The quake, which hit when many people were already were asleep in their homes, was felt in India’s capital, New Delhi, more than 500 miles away.

Earthquakes are common in mountainous Nepal. A 7.8 magnitude earthquake in 2015 killed 9,000 people and damaged about one million structures.

Army personnel carry an injured person on a stretcher after an earthquake in Jajarkot, Nepal, November 4, 2023. Nepal Army/Handout via REUTERS THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY. NO RESALES. NO ARCHIVES

Helicopters and security forces have been deployed to help people trapped under rubble (Picture: Reuters)

Neighbouring India offered to help in the rescue efforts.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi shared on social media that he was deeply saddened by the loss of lives and damage due to the earthquake in Nepal.

‘India stands in solidarity with the people of Nepal and is ready to extend all possible assistance,’ he said.

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