Nepal: Six dead in earthquake, tremors felt in Delhi

At least six people were killed and five others injured as an earthquake shook Nepal early Wednesday. Tremors were also felt in parts of northern India, including the capital city of Delhi.

There were no reports of damage from the Indian side.

Nepal's seismological center set the earthquake at a magnitude of 6.6. The European Mediterranean Seismological Center (EMSC) had set the earthquake at a magnitude of 5.6. It struck at 2:12 a.m. local time (2027 GMT). 

Nepal's prime minister, Sher Bahadur Deuba, tweeted his condolences and said rescue and relief efforts were being carried out. 

Rescue efforts underway

Local media showed collapsed houses and rubble in the western district of Doti. An army spokesperson told Reuters news agency that at least two people had been reported missing. There were four children and two adults among those killed by the quake. They were crushed in their houses in a mountainous region, said local authorities. 

A ground rescue team of the army has been rushed to the site, an army spokesperson said. Two helicopters were on standby in nearby Surkhet and Nepalgunj towns.

Kalpana Shrestha, a senior bureaucrat in the Doti district, said details were being collected from villages near the epicenter. She added that several people had been rescued from under the debris, including a child.

Videos being circulated on social media showed local villagers moving debris to rescue people trapped underneath. Most of the mountain villages are reached on foot. There are no roads to drive heavy equipment to help with the rescue.

"It shook terribly and I rushed out immediately. Now we are collecting details including the dead bodies," Ram Upadhyay, chairman of the Purbi Chowki rural municipality in Doti told Reuters news agency.

Mountainous country Nepal experienced two massive earthquakes in 2015, killing 9,000 people and causing major damage. The south Asian nation is still rebuilding after the destruction caused then.

tg/sms (dpa, AP, Reuters)