KATHMANDU. The toll from the 5.6 magnitude earthquake that hit northwestern Nepal just before midnight on Friday rises to at least 128 dead and dozens injured. The authorities communicate this, according to which the number is destined to increase. Communications are interrupted with many locations. Helicopters went into action, carrying medical personnel and medicines, and ground teams to rescue the injured and clear the roads and mountain paths blocked by landslides caused by the earthquake. Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal, who led the communist rebellion against the government in 1996-2006 which began in the districts hit by the earthquake, also went to the site by helicopter with a team of doctors.
In the district of Jajarkot, where the epicenter of the earthquake was located, the death of 92 people and the injuries of 55 others were confirmed, according to what was reported by the Nepalese police spokesperson Kuber Kadayat. At least 36 deaths were confirmed in the nearby district of Rukum, where numerous houses collapsed, and at least 85 injured were taken to the local hospital. More than 100 beds have been made available at the regional hospital in the city of Nepalgunj. The earthquake, which struck when many people were already sleeping in their homes, was felt in India’s capital, New Delhi, more than 800 kilometers (500 miles) away.
The US Geological Survey said the quake originated at a depth of 11 miles. Nepal’s National Earthquake Monitoring and Research Center said the epicenter was in Jajarkot, about 250 miles northeast of the Nepalese capital, Kathmandu.