Six dead, five injured in strong earthquake in west Nepal

Kathmandu, November 9, 2022

At least six people have died and five others were injured in a strong earthquake that hit west Nepal in the wee hours of Wednesday, media reports said.

The reports quoted the National Seismological Centre as saying that the earthquake, measuring 6.6 on the Richter scale, occurred at 2.12 am with its epicentre in the Khaptad National Park.

Police officials said the deceased included an eight-year-old boy, three girls in their early teens, a 40-year-old woman and a 50-year-old man, residents of Thadagaun in Purichauki rural municipality.

They said the victims were crushed under the debris of houses damaged during the earthquake.

The tremors were felt in Nepal's capital Kathmandu and other parts of the Himalayan country as well as in places such as Delhi, other parts of the National Capital Region, including cities like Ghaziabad, Noida, Faridabad and Gurugram, and Uttar Pradesh in India.

The five injured were taken to a local hospital for treatment, police said.

The reports said about ten houses collapsed due to the earthquake.

Search and rescue teams have reached the affected areas, the reports added.

In India, strong tremors were felt in Delhi and other parts of north India.

The National Centre for Seismology said the quake measured 6.3 on the Richter scale and occurred at 1.57 am IST, with its epicentre at latitude 29.24 and longitude 81.06 and a focal depth of 10 km in Nepal.

The strong tremors woke up several people who were sleeping in their homes in Delhi and surrounding areas. One person said he felt the doors in his house rattle. Many ran out of their multi-storeyed apartments as a precautionary measure.

IANS adds:

Strong tremors were felt in Lucknow and other parts of central Uttar Pradesh, prompting many to rush out of their houses in the middle of the night.

There was panic in several areas and people stayed out of their homes for nearly two hours after the tremors were felt.

The tremors lasted for nearly 10 seconds and were reported from several parts of the state.

NNN