JOIN USMore aftershocks jolt Nepal
Over a dozen aftershocks jolted Nepal on Wednesday, keeping people on edge a day after a powerful 7.3-magnitude earthquake killed 76 people in the Himalayan nation that had just begun to rebuild itself following the devastation from the temblor less than three weeks ago.
The fresh quake hit the hardest in remote mountainous districts in northeast of the capital city Kathmandu, bringing down buildings and triggering landslides that blocked roads to remote villages in several areas.
The death toll from Tuesday’s earthquake has climbed to 79, while the number of injured reached 2, 300 according to a Nepal Police spokesperson.
Most of the casualties were reported in Dolakha district, northeast of Kathmandu. The toll was expected to rise further.Rescue workers are searching for survivors from the latest quake. Search is also on for a US military helicopter that was reported missing with six Marines and two Nepalese soldiers on board while delivering aid.
Security personnel rescued 9 Nepalese, an American man and a Korean woman on Wednesday, airlifting them through a helicopter from Dolakha.
Police said 32 of 75 districts were affected and several houses collapsed due to the fresh quake that was centred some 83 km east of Kathmandu near Mount Everest at a shallow depth of 15 kilometres.
As many as 13 aftershocks were reported on Wednesday, most of them centred around Dolakha and Sindhupalchowk, according to Nepal Seismological Centre.
Tuesday’s temblor was followed by a 6.3-magnitude aftershock 30 minutes later. A total of 33 aftershocks struck on Tuesday and continued into Wednesday morning.
Thousands of fear-stricken people spent the night in the open under plastic tents barely shielding them from cold.
The quake triggered massive panic among the people, who have been staying in the open since the 7.9-magnitude lethal temblor struck on April 25, killing over 8,000 people and flattening thousands of buildings besides destroying entire villages.
Officials walked through streets in quake-hit areas and asked people to leave the damaged buildings. Authorities have ordered all schools to be closed for the next two weeks.
PM promises aid
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday called up his counterpart in the neighbouring country Sushil Koirala and assured him of all necessary assistance in relief and rescue operations, DHNS reports from New Delhi.
“PM Sushil Koirala & I had a telephonic conversation. We reviewed the situation arising due to Tuesday’s tremors,” Modi posted on Twitter.
India is continuing its relief and rescue operations launched immediately after the devastating earthquake hit Nepal on April 25 last. Another major quake hit Nepal on Tuesday.
“I assured PM Koirala of all possible cooperation from our side in the wake of the earthquake,” prime minister tweeted.
Missing US helicopter
Hundreds of Nepali troops were searching for a missing US Marines helicopter with eight people on board on Wednesday, a day after the second powerful earthquake in less than three weeks killed scores and sent panicked residents into the street.
The US helicopter was delivering aid in Dolakha, one of the hardest-hit areas from the April 25 quake, on Tuesday when it went missing with six Marines and two Nepali troops on board.
A Nepali military official said it appeared the helicopter might have come down in one of the rivers that snake through valleys in the district of Dolakha east of the capital, Kathmandu.
Six other helicopters joined hundreds of ground troops in the search for the missing aircraft.