At least two people were killed Saturday as a powerful 7.9 magnitude earthquake struck Nepal, the mountain country tucked in the high Himalayas. Tremors were felt as far as India and Bangladesh.

 

People in Kathmandu and other towns rushed out of their homes as the tremors shook Nepalese cities and mountain villages shortly before noon Saturday. The earthquake struck about 80 kilometers northwest of the capital, Kathmandu. Walls collapsed and many buildings were damaged.

 

An iconic 19th century tower, the Dharara tower, in the capital turned into a pile of rubble and Nepalese media reported that many people were trapped there. The tower had a viewing balcony on the eighth floor.

 

The country’s only international airport was shut down.

 

Director of Nepal’s Tourism Board, Aditya Baral, described to VOA the scene in the hours after the earthquake. “People are quite scared, everybody is out now, phone lines are not operating, everybody is outside because there are recurrent aftershocks going on,” he said.

 

Unconfirmed reports said that the Everest base camp in Nepal from where mountaineers begin to trek to the high peak also suffered devastation as the quake triggered an avalanche, raising fears that people from other countries could have been caught in the quake.

Television images showed many injured people crowded outside hospitals in Kathmandu trying to get help. Exact assessment of the devastation may take many hours and the number of casualties is likely to rise.

 

Baral says officials fear that the the old area of Kathmandu could have suffered the worst damage. “Old houses in the narrow lanes of the main city core area might have been devastated, there are not proper building structures, designs, they are almost hundred years old, there are small bylanes in between,” he said.

 

The tremors were felt as far away as the Indian capital and in Bangladesh.

 

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi tweeted, “We are in the process of finding more information and are working to reach out to those affected, both at home and in Nepal.”

 

He spoke to the Nepalese prime minister and president to offer help. The Indian air force has been put on standby.

 

The leader of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party, Rajiv Pratap Rudy, says disaster management teams are also ready to respond.

 

He says officials are still trying to assess the situation, and there are reports of three people being killed in the state of Bihar.  The eastern Indian state adjoins Nepal.

It is the worst earthquake to have hit Nepal in 80 years.
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