Death toll rises in large Nepal quake
NEWS DESK (DİHA) - A powerful, 7.9-magnitude earthquake shook Nepal's capital and the densely populated Kathmandu Valley before noon on April 25, collapsing houses, centuries-old temples and cutting open roads in the worst tremor in the Himalayan nation in over 80 years.
At least 114 people are so far known to have died in the earthquake which hit large parts of Nepal, the government said. "In Kathmandu 71 have been reported dead so far," home ministry spokesman Laxmi Prasad Dhakal told AFP. Another 43 had been reported dead in the nearby Bhaktapur district, he added. Dozens of people with injuries were being brought to the main hospital in central Kathmandu, The Associated Press reported.
The earthquake also shook several cities across northern India, and was felt as far away as Lahore in Pakistan. The epicenter was 80 kilometers northwest of Kathmandu. Several buildings collapsed in the center of the capital, the ancient Old Kathmandu, including centuries-old temples and towers, said resident Prachanda Sual. Among them was the Dharahara Tower, one of Kathmandu's landmarks built by Nepal's royal rulers in the 1800s and a UNESCO-recognized historical monument.
A 6.6-magnitude aftershock hit about an hour after the initial quake.
Nepal suffered its worst recorded earthquake in 1934, which measured 8.0 and all but destroyed the cities of Kathmandu, Bhaktapur and Patan.
(nt)
