KATMANDU: An earthquake of magnitude 6.6 in Nepal early on Wednesday killed four children and two adults, seriously injured five others as several houses collapsed in the western district of Doti, and shook New Delhi in neighbouring India.
Local media showed mud and brick houses destroyed by the quake in the Himalayan country and rescuers digging through the rubble to look for survivors.
At least two people are reported missing, said Nepali army spokesperson Narayan Silwal.
Women in the district, about 430 km (270 miles) west of the capital, Kathmandu, were shown sitting in the open with babies wrapped in blankets to shield them from the cold. Volunteers rescued a cow trapped under the debris.
Ram Upadhyay, chairman of the Purbi Chowki rural municipality in Doti, said he was in a nearby village when the quake struck at 2:12am Nepal time (2027 GMT).
“It shook terribly and I rushed out immediately. Now we are collecting details including the dead bodies,” he said.
Five people were seriously injured as eight houses collapsed, said Bhola Bhatta, Doti’s deputy superintendent of police.
Nepal is still rebuilding after two major earthquakes in 2015 killed almost 9,000 people, destroyed whole towns and centuries-old temples and caused a $6 billion blow to the economy. –Agencies
