Kathmandu – More than 1,500 people were killed by a powerful earthquake that struck Nepal on Saturday. The earthquake – which measured 7.8 on the Richter scale – wrecked houses, levelled centuries-old temples and triggered avalanches on Mount Everest. At least 18 people were killed on the mountain, and hundreds of tourists and guides are now trapped or buried in snow and ice there as rescue parties struggle to reach them.
Google launched a 2015 Nepal Earthquake “person finder” database that listed several of those missing.
Dharahara tower: Also known as the Bhimsen Tower, is a 9 storey tower which collapsed after the quake.. Built in 1832 A.D, the tower was built by the then Prime Minister Bhimsen Thapa, on the instruction of Queen Lalit Tripura Sundari.
The tremor was the worst to hit the landlocked nation, sandwiched between India and China, in more than 80 years. At least 1,130 people were confirmed dead in Nepal, with others killed in north India, China and Bangladesh. Given the scale of the destruction, the death toll is almost certain to rise, said Laxmi Dhakal, a home ministry official.
Relief efforts were being hampered by a collapse in communications, raising fears that a widespread humanitarian disaster was unravelling across the impoverished Himalayan nation of 28 million. “This is a very large earthquake in a significantly populated region with infrastructure that has been damaged in past earthquakes,” said US Geological Survey seismologist Paul Earle.
The Nepalese government made an urgent appeal for foreign help, with India sending in military aircraft with medical equipment and relief teams.