An earthquake that struck remote western Nepal on Friday claimed the lives of over 150 people.
In the untamed districts of Jajarkot and West Rukum, 500 kilometers (310 miles) west of Kathmandu, security forces have been sent in to support rescue operations.
Robust seismic activity was detected in the distant capital of Nepal as well as in nearby Indian cities, such as Delhi.
Over a hundred people had been hurt, according to an army spokesman. There are many injured people in Jajarkot's hospital.
A survivor named Geethakumari Bista told the BBC that while her elder daughter was saved by rescuers, her younger daughter was lost.
The three of us were in the upper floor room together. Everything transpired so quickly. She recalled that we were unable to comprehend what was going on.
They were buried under the debris after their house fell.
"People began to shout. I yelled, "I am alive, too," as the armed cops arrived. My older daughter was first saved by them, who carried her outside and downstairs. Regretfully, they were unable to save my younger child. She was fourteen years old.
Within an hour of the initial quake, three more tremors were detected. A lot of people stayed outside in the open for the remainder of the night, fearing more earthquakes and possible damage to their homes.
The crumbling facades of multi-story brick houses were captured on camera for the local media. In social media posts, people could be seen sifting through debris at night to extract survivors from the wreckage of fallen buildings.
According to Unicef Nepal, they are currently evaluating the harm and the impact of the calamity on children and families.
After expressing his "deep sorrow" on social media platform X over the loss of life and property caused by the earthquake, Nepal's prime minister, Pushpa Kamal Dahal, arrived in the affected region on Saturday. He declared that security agencies were to begin rescue and relief efforts right away.
However, the quake-caused landslides that are blocking roads are making search and rescue efforts more difficult.
Homes have fallen through. People bolted from their houses. Santosh Rokka, a local police official, told Reuters shortly after the earthquake, "I am out among the crowd of scared residents."
We were dozing off. According to earthquake survivor Laxman Pun, "We felt like dying." He told BBC Nepali that their house was damaged and that they would have a difficult time surviving. Where we will be able to stay is unknown. Tents will probably be required.
Our home trembled as if it were a swing. There was dust everywhere and houses falling as we ran outside. We went back inside since we were unable to see anything. According to Jajarkot-based bank manager Siddha Bohora, "We came out after the tremors stopped."
According to Nepal's Monitoring and Research Center, the earthquake was felt at 18:02 GMT (23:47 local time).
The earthquake, which occurred closer to the earth's surface, was classified as shallow by the US Geological Survey, which recorded its magnitude as 5.6.
Nepal is located in an area of high seismic activity, the Himalayas.
Injuries were reported following a 6.3-magnitude earthquake that struck Bajhang's western district last month.
2015 saw two terrible earthquakes strike the nation, leaving 22,309 people injured and 9,000 dead.
A 7.8-magnitude earthquake that struck on April 25, 2015, was the primary cause of the damage and fatalities. There were several aftershocks that followed, the largest of which measured 7.3 in May of that year.
The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) reports that the earthquakes caused damage to over 800,000 houses, primarily in the western and central districts.
Several towns north of Kathmandu were leveled, and government buildings, some highways, and the well-known historic monuments in the Kathmandu Valley—UNESCO World Heritage Sites—were all damaged or destroyed.
Officials reported on Saturday that a powerful earthquake in Nepal's western Jajarkot area claimed at least 128 lives and injured dozens more. The earthquake caused buildings as far away as New Delhi in neighboring India to tremble and collapse.
As per the National Seismological Centre of Nepal, the earthquake had a magnitude of 6.4 and happened on Friday at 11:47 p.m. (1802 GMT). The U.S. Geological Survey recorded the earthquake at 5.6, while the German Research Center for Geosciences evaluated it at 5.7, downgrading it from 6.2.
That 2015 earthquake in the Himalayan nation claimed the lives of nearly 9,000 people, making it the deadliest since. At that time, over a million homes were destroyed, along with entire towns, ancient temples, and other historical sites, all reduced to collapse.
Since they were unable to make contact in the hilly region close to the epicentre, which is about 500 km (300 miles) west of the capital Kathmandu, where tremors were also felt, officials feared that the number of fatalities from Friday's earthquake may increase. There are 190,000 people living in the district, which is made up of isolated hillside villages.
According to district official Harish Chandra Sharma of Jajarkot, there could be hundreds of injured people and more deaths, Reuters was informed over the phone.
According to police spokesman Kuber Kadayat, there were 36 fatalities in the nearby Rukum West district and 92 in the Jajarkot district in the Karnali province. The village of Ramidanda served as the epicentre.
An official from the prime minister's office stated that at least 85 people were hurt in Rukum West and 55 in Jajarkot. Meanwhile, Sharma stated that at least 50 people were hospitalized in Jajarkot alone.
Numerous homes have fallen, and numerous others have cracks in them. As aftershocks struck, thousands of residents were too terrified to enter the cracked houses and spent the entire night in the cold, open spaces, according to Sharma. Even I haven't been able to enter.
According to police officer Namaraj Bhattarai, roads blocked by landslides caused by the earthquake must be cleared for search and rescue efforts to reach the affected areas.
According to his office, Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal flew to the region early on Saturday to supervise search, rescue, and relief efforts with a 16-person army medical team.
Dahal commanded security agencies to begin rescue and relief efforts right away and expressed his profound sorrow over the loss of life and property in an earthquake-related post on the social media platform X.
Images from the local media showed large pieces of furniture strewn about and the crumbling facades of multi-story brick houses. People were seen fleeing into the street while certain buildings were evacuated in videos posted on X.
Homes have fallen through. People bolted from their houses. I am outside among the residents who are frightened. Police official Santosh Rokka stated over the phone, "We are attempting to find details of damage."
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