Dozens dead in earthquake in Nepal
At least 56 people have died in a magnitude 5.6 earthquake in western Nepal. "In our district, 26 people have died and many people are injured," the mayor of Jajarkot in the west of the Himalayan country told the AFP news agency after the quake on Friday evening. The police in the Rukum region reported at least 30 dead and 40 injured shortly afterwards. The exact extent of the destruction is still unclear.
Head of government Pushpa Kamal expressed his "deep sorrow" on the online service X, formerly Twitter, in view of the "human and material damage" caused by the earthquake. He explained that the quake struck at 23:47 local time (18:47 CET) in the village of Ramidanda in the Jajarkot region in the west of the country. The village is located about 400 kilometers northeast of the capital Kathmandu. Three security services were mobilized for "immediate rescue and care of the injured".
According to the US earthquake observatory USGS, the quake occurred at a depth of 18 kilometers below the earth's surface. According to a report in the "Times of India" newspaper, tremors were felt as far away as the Indian capital New Delhi, almost 500 kilometers from the epicenter of the quake.
The Himalayan region, which includes Nepal, is extremely active geologically. There, the Indian continental plate is sliding under the Eurasian plate at a rate of around two centimetres per year - which repeatedly leads to strong quakes. Around eight years ago - in spring 2015 - a severe earthquake with a magnitude of 7.8 (according to Nepalese figures: 7.6) shook the area around the capital Kathmandu. The death toll at the time rose to around 9,000. Entire cities, centuries-old temples and other historical sites were reduced to rubble and millions of people were left homeless.
Following the devastating earthquake in Nepal, international aid organizations are mobilizing resources to assist the affected regions. The earthquake, which originated in the Jajarkot region, was also felt in neighboring India, specifically in New Delhi.
Source: www.ntv.de
