Nepal: at least 6 dead from a magnitude 5.6 earthquake in the west of the country

At least 6 people were killed and 7 others were injured on Wednesday after a 5.6-magnitude earthquake shook western Nepalwhile the search work continues among the collapsed houses.

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Six people died buried in the western district of Doti when their house collapsed due to the tremors, the deputy police superintendent of the district, Bhola Bhatta, told EFE.

In addition, five other people were admitted to the hospital and “almost a dozen houses collapsed”added the officer.

Among the deceased are an 8-year-old boy, a 13-year-old girl, two 14-year-old girls, a 40-year-old woman and a 50-year-old man.

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SEVERAL TREMORS AT NIGHT

It all started with a small tremor on Tuesday night, which was followed “another small jolt followed by strong tremors” two hours later, Khadak Dhami, one of the inhabitants of the Thadagaun village where the six deaths occurred, told EFE by phone.

But the biggest tremor occurred after 2 a.m., lasting for minutes. People “He started running while they were screaming,” continuous.

“I cannot describe the movement in words. It was horrible. Everyone cried, screamed and ran.” recalled Dhami, who indicated that all the neighbors preferred to continue sleeping in the street, despite the cold, to stay safe from new aftershocks.

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The magnitude 5.6 earthquake had its epicenter in a remote region in the west of the country at a depth of 15.7 kilometers, according to the United States Geological Survey (USGS).

However, Nepal’s National Earthquake Monitoring and Research Center gave the quake a magnitude of 6.6.

According to USGS data, another 4.8 earthquake had struck the same region on Tuesday night.

SEARCH AMONG THE RUBBLE

It took an hour and a half for the police and rescue teams to reach Thadagaun, a remote town located about 20 kilometers from the nearest main road, and separated by 800 kilometers from the road from Kathmandu.

A 12-year-old boy was pulled from the rubble, according to Dhami, after the tremor completely toppled eight houses made of mud and bricks, while another 30 were damaged.

Images shared on social media show locals clearing rubble and searching houses with torches.

“The earthquake mainly devastated Thadagaun. We are assessing damage in other areas as well.” Kalpana Shrestha, director of the Doti district, to which the municipality belongs, told EFE.

According to Shrestha, two other seriously injured people were airlifted to the capital.

Several volunteers from the Nepalese Red Cross are on the ground helping with rescue efforts and providing assistance to those affected, the organization itself reported on Twitter.

The Nepalese Prime Minister, Sher Bahadur Deuba, expressed his condolences to the victims this morning and stated on Twitter that he had given instructions “to the relevant agencies so that they arrange immediate and adequate treatment for the injured and the victims in the relief and rescue operations in the affected areas.”

With these earthquakes, the 7.8-magnitude earthquake that shook the Himalayan country on April 25, 2015 returns to the memory of everyone in Nepal, demolishing multi-story buildings in Kathmandu, and causing landslides and avalanches in the mountains. Almost 9,000 people died and more than 22,000 were injured.

That catastrophe also left hundreds of thousands of people homeless and caused damage valued at nearly 6,470 million euros. Seven years after the earthquake, the reconstruction work has not finished, slowed down in part by the effects of the pandemic.

Source: Elcomercio

Ronald Payne

I, Ronald Payne, am a journalist and author who dedicated his life to telling the stories that need to be said. I have over 7 years of experience as a reporter and editor, covering everything from politics to business to crime.