At least 128 people were killed in a strong 6.4 magnitude earthquake that originated in Nepal's Jajarkot district Friday midnight. The earthquake had its epicentre at the Jajarkot district's Lamidanda.

Eighty people were killed and more than 140 people sustained injuries in the Jajarkot and Rukum districts of Western Nepal, according to state-run Nepal Television.

Overall 128 people were killed in the country.

Video footage on local media showed crumbled facades of multi-storied brick houses. People were pictured digging through rubble in the dark to pull survivors from the remains of collapsed buildings in posts on social media.

Nepal Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal has reportedly left for the affected region. Posting on X, he expressed his "deep sorrow" at the loss of life and property wrought by the quake and said he had ordered security agencies to immediately launch rescue and relief operations.

But those search and rescue operations are being hampered by roads becoming blocked by landslides that were triggered by the quake.

The police chief of Jajarkot district Suresh Sunar told the Reuters news agency it was difficult to get a full picture of what had happened.

"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," Mr Sunar told Reuters.

The earthquake was recorded at 23:47 local time (18:02 GMT), according to Nepal's Monitoring and Research Centre.

The US Geological Survey measured the earthquake at a magnitude of 5.6, and said it was a shallow earthquake, meaning it happened closer to the earth's surface.

Nepal is situated along the Himalayas, where there is a lot of seismic activity.

Last month, a 6.3-magnitude earthquake was registered in the western district of Bajhang, resulting in injuries.

In 2015, the country suffered two devastating earthquakes in which 9,000 people were killed and 22,309 injured.

Source: BBC and The Times of India 

BDST: 1022 HRS, NOV 04, 2023
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