Deadly earthquake hits Nepal: 157 killed as search and rescue efforts called off

Search and rescue efforts have been called off in a remote pocket of Nepal which was hit by a devastating earthquake that killed at least 157 people. See the photos and video.

Search and rescue efforts following a deadly earthquake in Nepal have “wrapped up” as the focus shifts to providing relief to survivors awaiting food and shelter, officials have confirmed.

At least 157 people were killed in isolated western districts of the Himalayan country when the 5.6-magnitude earthquake hit late Friday.

Many survivors spent the night under the open sky, their mud houses reduced to piles of rubble.

Several people died in the village of Nalgad, in the worst-hit Jajarkot district, where Mahesh Chanare prepared to cremate his father-in-law Sunday.

“The rest of my family is safe,” the 34-year-old plumber said.

“But the houses have buried everything with them, there is hardly anything to eat. No relief materials have reached us. People here desperately need food and tents.”

Altogether 105 people died in Jajarkot and another 52 in neighbouring Rukum district, with more than 100 injured, officials said.

“We are in touch with all areas and rescue operations have wrapped up,” said provincial police spokesman Gopal Chandra Bhattarai.

“But we are still on alert as this is a remote area and there might be some isolated areas from where information has not flowed.”

Harish Chandra Sharma, a Jajarkot district official, said the focus was now on providing relief to the victims.

“It has been a tough night and we are trying to get relief materials to those affected by the quake,” Sharma said.

“Some have been distributed but we need to reach all areas.”

An aerial picture shows damaged buildings in Jajarkot district after an earthquake. Picture: AFP

Damaged buildings in Jajarkot district following the 5.6-magnitude earthquake in a remote pocket of Nepal. Picture: AFP

“There was a very big noise when the houses came down. It felt like a big explosion,” Shiva Prasad Sharma, 65, told AFP from outside his destroyed home in Jajarkot, the district hit worst by the quake.

“I thought we were going to die,” he added. “No one has anything left. There are no houses left to stay in”.

Residents rest under blankets after the quake. Picture: AFP

Damaged houses lie in ruins, in the aftermath of an earthquake at Pipaldanda village of Jajarkot district. Picture: AFP

Locals frantically dug through rubble in the dark to pull survivors from the wreckage of collapsed homes and buildings, as others crouched outside for safety.

The quake was felt as far away as India’s capital New Delhi, nearly 500 kilometres (310 miles) from the epicentre.

“The toll from the quake has reached 157 — 105 in Jajarkot and 52 in Rukum,” national police spokesman Kuber Kathayat told AFP.

Another 199 were injured in the quake, he added.

Survivors are seen at a corridor of the Jajarkot district hospital. Picture: AFP

Home ministry spokesman Narayan Prasad Bhattarai said the toll was unlikely to significantly increase.

“We are now in touch with all areas,” he told AFP. “It is possible some bodies might still be found under the rubble.” Security forces were deployed on foot and in helicopters to assist with search and rescue operations.

Survivors are seen at the Jajarkot district hospital in the aftermath of an earthquake in Jajarkot. Picture: AFP

“The remoteness of the districts makes it difficult for information to get through,” Karnali Province police spokesman Gopal Chandra Bhattarai told AFP.

“Some roads had been blocked by damage, but we are trying to reach the area through alternate routes.” Dozens of survivors with fractures and head injuries were raced for treatment to a hospital in Nepalgunj, a small city near the Indian border.

“It came when we were sleeping,” Kamala Oli, a woman cradling her infant child at a hospital treating survivors, told AFP.

Nepalese Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal arrived at the site of the quake on Saturday after expressing his “deep sorrow over the human and physical damage”.

“The government is serious about providing relief to victims and treating the injured,” he added.

In neighbouring India, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said he was “deeply saddened” by the loss of lives.

“India stands in solidarity with the people of Nepal and is ready to extend all possible assistance,” he added.

A motorcycle and broken windows are seen in the midst of the rubble in the aftermath of an earthquake in Jajarkot. Picture: AFP

Nepal lies on a major geological faultline where the Indian tectonic plate pushes up into the Eurasian plate, forming the Himalayas, and earthquakes are a regular occurrence.

Nearly 9,000 people died and more than 22,000 were injured in 2015 when a 7.8-magnitude quake struck Nepal, destroying more than half a million homes.

It damaged or destroyed nearly 8,000 schools, leaving almost one million children without classrooms.

Hundreds of monuments and royal palaces — including the Kathmandu Valley’s UNESCO World Heritage sites — that had drawn visitors from around the world were destroyed, in a major blow to tourism.

Six people died in November last year when a 5.6-magnitude earthquake struck Doti district, near Jajarkot.

Indian social media users reported feeling Friday’s quake in the northern cities of Lucknow and Patna.

It was followed several hours later by an aftershock in the same area with a 4.0 magnitude, USGS said.

Originally published as Deadly earthquake hits Nepal: 157 killed as search and rescue efforts called off