A strong earthquake shook northwestern Nepal districts just before midnight Friday, and officials said at least 13O people were dead and 1OO more injured as rescuers searched mountain villages.
Officials said early Saturday that the toll was expected to rise, noting that communications were cut off in many places.
The quake, which hit when many people already were asleep in their homes, was felt in New Delhi, more than 800 kilometers away.
The US Geological Survey said the earthquake had a preliminary magnitude of 5.6 and occurred at a depth of 11 miles.
Nepal’s National Earthquake Monitoring & Research Center said its epicenter was at Jajarkot, which is about 250 miles northeast of the Nepalese capital, Kathmandu.
More details are awaited. The rescue operations are going on in many areas. PM Modi expressed shock over the death of people and assured of all the help in the rescue operations.
