Watch: 132 people were killed in a 5.6 magnitude earthquake that hit Nepal and was felt by residents of neighboring New Delhi.

 

   At least 132 people have been killed in an earthquake that struck a remote area in western Nepal overnight, according to a new toll issued by the authorities on Saturday, as rescue teams search for possible survivors with the assistance of security forces.

The earthquake, which measured 5.6 on the Richter scale, struck the far west of Nepal located in the Himalayas late on Friday, at a depth of 18 kilometers, according to the US Geological Survey. Its epicenter was located 42 kilometers south of Jumla, not far from the border with Tibet.

Narayan Prasad Bhattarai, a spokesperson for the Ministry of the Interior, told AFP that "92 people died in Jajarkot and 40 in Rukum," the two most affected provinces in the border province of Karnali.

Police spokesperson Kuber Kathayat stated that the authorities have recorded injuries to more than a hundred others in the two provinces.

Security reinforcements were deployed to assist in search and rescue operations, according to Gopal Chandra Bhattarai, a spokesperson for the Karnali district police, as reported by AFP.

He added, "Information transfer is difficult as these areas are remote. Some roads are blocked due to subsequent damage, but we are trying to reach the area by other means."

Residents rushed to the hospital in the Jajarkot area, carrying the wounded, and video footage and photos posted on social media showed people searching among the rubble in the dark to rescue survivors from the collapsed buildings. Mud houses can be seen destroyed or damaged, and survivors remained in the open to protect themselves from possible collapses, as the sirens of ambulances were heard.

Nepalese Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal expressed his "deep sorrow for the human and material damage caused by the earthquake" upon his arrival in the affected area on Saturday.

The earthquake was followed by several aftershocks measuring 4 on the Richter scale in the same area, according to the US Geological Survey, which were felt by residents of New Delhi, located 500 kilometers from the epicenter.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed his "deep sorrow" for the human losses in Nepal. He added, "India stands in solidarity with the Nepalese people and is ready to provide any possible assistance."

Nepal often experiences earthquakes as it sits on a major geological fault where the Indian tectonic plate dives beneath the Eurasian plate to form the Himalayan mountain range. Nearly 9,000 people were killed in 2015 when a 7.8 magnitude earthquake struck Nepal, destroying over half a million homes and 8,000 schools.

Hundreds of monuments and royal palaces, including sites in the Kathmandu Valley listed on UNESCO's World Heritage list that attract tourists from around the world, suffered irreparable damage, dealing a severe blow to Nepalese tourism.

Six people were killed in November 2022 when a 5.6 magnitude earthquake struck the Duti area near Jumla.