Updated: Apr 26
Kathmandu, Apr 26 (IANS): Another powerful earthquake measuring 7.9 on the Richter scale shook Nepal on Sunday even as rescuers battled against great odds to try rescue trapped people from the previous day's tremblor that left nearly 2,000 dead in the Himalayan nation.
Tens of thousands fled out of their homes in the Kathmandu Valley and other districts at 12.54 p.m., triggering fresh scare in a country still trying to come to grips with Saturday's extent of devastation.
The epicentre of Sunday's earthquake was at 17 km south of Kodari, about 110 km from here. The quake was comparatively shallower, at 10 km compared to the Saturday temblor whose epicentre lay at a depth of 15 km.
The second earthquake or major aftershock hit Nepal even as soldiers, policemen and other official agencies were out on the streets in full strength throughout the night both in the Kathmandu Valley and other districts as India and other countries rushed immediate help.
A day after a 7.9-magnitude earthquake rattled much of Nepal and even neighbouring India, Bhutan and Tibet, an official statement put the latest death toll at 1,911 people. The Saturday quake's epicentre lay in Lamjung district, around 75 km northwest of Kathmandu.
The Nepal home ministry said more than 50 aftershocks were also felt. "The aftershocks are still continuing," said an IANS correspondent in the nation's capital.
Fearing more damage, hundreds of rattled residents of Kathmandu slept on the streets. Charitable organisations and official agencies provided food and water to the homeless.
At least 723 people perished in Kathmandu alone while 205 others were killed in Bhaktapur, just 13 km from the capital and 125 in Lalitpur, only five kilometres away, a statement from the ministry said.
Two foreigners and two police personnel were among the dead. The statement warned that the death toll was likely to rise.
More than 4,600 people were injured in the disaster and were admitted to various hospitals.
The maximum of 80 deaths were reported from Sindhupalchowk district, the Nepalese media reported.
The government has declared a national crisis and established a fund of 500 million Nepali rupees (about $4 million) for the reconstruction of the damaged infrastructures.
"We have launched a massive rescue and rehabilitation action plan and lots needs to be done," Information and Broadcasting Minister Minendra Rijal told the media. "Our country is a moment of crisis, and we will require tremendous support and aid."
This is the worst earthquake to hit Nepal in more than 80 years. The last one, in 1934, killed some 8,500 people.
Saturday's disaster brought down historical monuments such as Dharhara tower in Kathmandu while Basantapur Durbar Square and Patan Durbar Square were also destroyed.
The Kantipur Daily said the shockwaves that followed throughout the day Saturday destroyed around 80 percent of the temples in Basantapur Durbar Square.
These included the Kasthamandap, Panchtale temple, the nine-storey Basantapur Durbar, the Dasa Avtar temple and Krishna Mandir. Kasthamandap, which inspired the name Kathmandu, is a 16th century wooden monument.
A few other monuments, including the Kumari Temple and the Taleju Bhawani, have partially collapsed.
At Dharahara, around two dozen dead bodies were recovered from the tower's debris. Dharahara had broken into parts in a similar earthquake 83 years ago.
Prushottam Lochan Shrestha, a historian, told the Kantipur Daily: "We have lost most monuments that had been designated as World Heritage Sites in Kathmandu, Bhaktapur and Lalitpur. They cannot be restored to their original state."
Earlier Updates: Apr 25
Massive earthquake kills nearly 1,500 in Nepal, 44 in India
Kathmandu, Apr 25 (PTI): Nepal was today struck by the worst earthquake in 80 years, leaving nearly 1,500 people dead in flattened houses and buildings including the iconic Dharhara tower and renowned Darbar Square in the heart of the capital.
The quake measuring 7.9 on Richter scale, which was followed by 16 aftershocks of magnitude 4.5 or greater, striking heavy casualties in Kathmandu and injuring thousand others. Hundreds were feared missing across the country.
"Army estimates death toll as much as 1457 so far," Nepal's Finance Minister Ram Sharan Mahat tweeted.
He said, "90 per cnt of approx 1000 homes and huts reduced to rubble in Barpak Larpak area."
According to Nepalese Home Ministry figures, 150 people lost lives in neighbouring Bhaktapur, 250 in Sindhu, 67 in Lalitpur and 37 in Dhading district. Besides, 20 people were killed in the country's eastern region, 33 in western region and rest in other parts of the Himalayan nation.
The earthquake around 11:56 am with epicentre at Lamjung, around 80 kilometers northwest of Kathmandu, had its impact in several cities in Bihar, West Bengal and UP and tremors were felt across vast stretches of east and northeast India.
It was also felt in Southern and Western parts of India, China, Bhutan and as far as Pakistan and Bangladesh. Miraculously the famous 5th century Pashupatinath temple here was undamaged, while a number of old temples were razed.
Several buildings, most of them old, in the densely- populated Kathmandu Valley collapsed, killing hundreds.
Over 200 bodies have been retrieved from the debris of two-century old nine-storey landmark Dharhara tower in the centre of the capital.
Kathmandu's Darbar Square, a UNESCO World Heritage site, was completely damaged in the quake which was the worst to hit Nepal and surrounding regions after the earthquake of 8.4 magnitude which occurred along the Nepal-Bihar border in 1934.
Video footages showed a number of buildings having caved in or developing huge cracks. Many of the city roads have suffered wide craters in the impact, affecting movement of vehicles and rescue operations.
Army, police and emergency workers were pressed into service for rescue of those trapped and rushing injured survivors to hospitals. Many of the injured could be seen suffering bleeding injuries covered in dust from the debris.
Indian Embassy spokesperson Abhay Kumar said some walls have collapsed in the impact of the earthquake and the embassy has set up two helplines 977 98511 07021, 977 98511 35141.
Fifty doctors have arrived from India to provide emergency services. India dispatched as many as four aircraft including a C-130 plane carrying three tonnes of relief supplies and a 40-member rescue team to Nepal.
The daughter of a local employee in the Indian embassy died and his wife suffered serious injuries when a house in the mission complex in Kathmandu collapsed during the quake.
Nearly 125 people from Maharashtra and Telangana are stranded in Nepal after the earthquake.
Around 80 people from Nashik had gone to Nepal for pilgrimage while 15-20 people were on a trekking expedition. 25 tourists from Hyderabad, who are in Kathmandu, are safe.
"Now, all of us are safe in an open ground, close to the Pashupatinath temple in Kathmandu," said Gowrishankar, who took the tourists.
Four Chinese nationals, including a climber, were kiled and five were critically injured in the earthquake. Hospitals were over-crowded with injured, with many of them being treated in the open outside the hospitals.
An emergency cabinet meeting has announced 29 districts as crisis zones, the Home Ministry said. The quake caused avalanches on Mount Everest, sending mountaineers running for cover.
Gyanendra Shrestha, an official at the Ministry of Tourism, said that 10 people including foreign climbers have been killed in the avalanche triggered by the earthquake.
The earthquake first struck around 11:56 am (local time) followed by aftershocks, Nepal Police spokesperson Kamal Singh Bam said.
Nepal's TV channels showed dozens of bodies lined up on ground after the earthquake. Television pictures also showed some of the people rescued from under the debris. A Nepali minister said there had been "massive damage" at the epicentre.
"We need support from the various international agencies which are more knowledgeable and equipped to handle the kind of emergency we face now," Information Minister Minendra Rijal said.
Initially measured at 7.5 magnitude, the quake was later revised to 7.9, with a depth of 15 kilometres.
National radio warned people to stay outdoors and keep calm as more aftershocks were feared. The Tribhuvan International Airport has been closed.
44 killed, 237 injured due to quake in India
At least 44 people were today killed and 237 injured in various parts of the country in a powerful earthquake, with epicentre in Nepal, which destroyed or damaged several houses and buildings.
Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal, bordering Nepal, were the worst-hit parts of India in the quake measuring 7.9 on Richter Scale.
A spokesman of Union Home Ministry said 32 people were killed in Bihar, ten in Uttar Pradesh and 2 in West Bengal.
The spokesman put the number of injured at 237.
With Prime Minister Narendra Modi himself monitoring the situation and issuing directives, massive rescue and relief operations were initiated on a war footing.
"As per the latest information, 44 people have lost their lives in India and the toll may go up," Minister of State for Home Affairs Kiren Rijiju told PTI here tonight.
The Prime Minister, who took stock of the situation at a high-level meeting here, directed immediate dispatch of rescue and relief teams, including medical staff, to the affected areas.
He also spoke to Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, Sikkim Chief Minister Pawan Kumar Chamling and Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan.
The central government's Crisis Management Committee, headed by Cabinet Secretary Ajit Seth, is holding regular meetings to keep a watch on the situation.
Home Secretary L C Goyal said five teams of National Disaster Response Force, comprising 45 personnel each, were dispatched to Bihar and Uttar Pradesh for conducting rescue and relief operations.
"Our focus is on rescue operations. The damage assessment will follow in some time," he said.
Rijiju said rescue and relief teams have been sent to Patna, Supaul, Muzaffarpur, Darbhanga, Gopalganj in Bihar and Gorakhpur in Uttar Pradesh.
Rijiju said that additional personnel of National Disaster Response Force have been sent to quake-hit Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal.
He said paramilitary personnel were also put on alert so that they could be deployed at a short notice," he said.
"We have fully mobilised our forces and deployed for the rescue of quake-hit people. The operation will continue throughout the night. From tomorrow onwards, we may concentrate on relief operations," he said.
Rijiju said a total of 460 NDRF personnel have been dispatched to Nepal along with all rescue gears to help the local administration in rescue operations.
IAF plane brings back 55 stranded Indians
An Indian Air Force aircraft tonight brought back 55 stranded Indians, including four infants, from the earthquake-hit Nepal.
The aircraft C-130J, which had earlier flown National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) members and relief materials from New Delhi to Kathmandu, landed here with 55 Indian evacuees at around 10.45 PM, Defense Ministry spokesperson said.
Earlier, External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Vikas Swarup had said that besides C-130J, two other IAF aircraft -- IL-76 and C-17 -- have also been sent to Kathmandu to ferry Indian nationals stuck in the Nepalese capital.
While IL-76 has flown 153 NDRF members along with 28 tonnes of relief material to Kathmanadu, the C-17 aircraft had 96 NDRF members with 15 tonnes of relief material onboard.
The two aircraft are expected to bring back 100 Indians each and were likely to land here either late tonight or tomorrow, he said.
Nepal was struck by the worst earthquake in 80 years, leaving nearly 1,500 people dead in flattened houses and buildings.
The quake measuring 7.9 on Richter scale, which was followed by 16 aftershocks of magnitude 4.5 or greater, striking heavy casualties in Kathmandu and injuring thousand others. Hundreds were feared missing across the country.
Nepal earthquake: BSNL, Airtel pitch in with local, free calls
As a massive earthquake rocked Nepal, telecom major Airtel today announced free calls to Nepal on its network over the next 48 hours, while state-run BSNL and MTNL decided to charge local rates for calls made to the Himalayan nation for the next three days.
"We are deeply saddened by the severe impact that one of the worst earthquakes in Nepal has had on the lives of its people," Airtel said in a statement.
"As a small gesture during this hour of crisis, we have decided to offer all calls on the Airtel network from India to Nepal completely free of cost for the next 48 hours effective midnight, thus enabling customers across the country get in touch with their families and friends in Nepal," it added.
The move from Airtel came within couple of hours after public sector firm BSNL announced it will charge all calls made from its network to Nepal as per local rates for the next three days.
"All calls that will be made from BSNL network will be charged as per local call rates for next three days," BSNL CMD Anupam Shrivastava told PTI.
The normal charge for a call to Nepal from BSNL network costs a consumer Rs 10 per minute.
He added that BSNL customers would be billed for calls made to Nepal as per the local call rates they had opted for themselves.
"People have opted for different kind of plans. Those who have opted for per second billing plan will be charged as per their plan and those who have opted for per minute calling will be charged on per minute basis. So, now they can make calls to Nepal for about one paisa per second or Re1/minute," Shrivastava said.
Another public sector firm MTNL, which operates in Delhi and Mumbai, also announced a similar plan.
"We have decided to make all calls local for next three days starting this midnight which is April 26 onward," MTNL Director for Human Resource and Technical Sunil Kumar said. MTNL call rates to Nepal varies from plan to plan in the range of Rs 7-10.
Nearly 700 people were killed after a powerful earthquake measuring 7.9 on Richter scale struck Nepal today flattening houses and buildings including the centuries-old Dharhara tower and triggering an avalanche on Mt Everest.
Meanwhile, Communications and IT Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad has asked Department of Telecommunications (DoT) Secretary Rakesh Garg to take stock of the damage to telecom network in Bihar and Uttar Pradesh due to the earthquake and initiate measures to restore the network.
The statement added Chief General Managers of BSNL in Bihar and UP have been directed to assess damage and draw emergency plans to restore communication in the affected areas.
"Instructions have also been given to inform the Minister on hourly bases on the progress achieved," it added.