Six people are reported dead after a magnitude 6.6 earthquake hit Nepal early Wednesday morning. Strong tremors were also felt in Delhi, Noida, and other north Indian plains, which shook people out of sleep.
Three earthquakes have hit Nepal over a 24-hour period. The first earthquake of 5.7 magnitudes was recorded at 9:07 PM (Local Time) on Tuesday followed by another at 9:56 PM (Local Time) measuring 4.1 on the Richter scale. The third was the strongest tremor that triggered panic in India and Nepal.
According to a senior Nepalese official, three people died as the jolt wrecked their house in the hilly country’s Gairagaun.
In Delhi and other north Indian states, the earthquake triggered panic. People sleeping in their homes rushed outside. Thousands of Twitter users started asking if it indeed was an earthquake or just a figment of their imagination. Many reported that their beds started shaking due to the earthquake.
The epicenter of the earthquake was 90 km southeast of Pithoragarh in Uttarakhand, bordering Nepal.
A local official told ANI that five people were injured in the housing collapse and dozens of houses have been damaged by the landslides triggered by the earthquake.
The Nepal Army has been mobilized in the affected areas to carry out the search and rescue operations, the officials said.
On October 19, an earthquake of magnitude 5.1 shook Kathmandu.
In 2015, an earthquake with a magnitude of 7.8 killed around 9,000 people in Nepal and injured close to 22,000.
With inputs from ANI
