Emptiness :'(: Killer quake hits India, Nepal

Kathmandu: On Sunday evening, at least five people were killed, three in Kathmandu alone, dozens injured and houses collapsed as a major earthquake hit Nepal, triggering panic and chaos nationwide.

Measuring 6.8 on the Richter scale, the quake hit Nepal at 6.25 pm, lasting for around two minutes. Power supply and telephone lines have been disrupted since the quake hit.

The British Embassy building in Kathmandu, located in the Lainchaur area, close to the Indian Embassy, collapsed after the quake, smashing a car and killing three persons who were in the car.

Two more people were said to have been killed in the congested Kalanki area of the capital city, but there was no immediate official confirmation.

There was no immediate official confirmation of a large number of deaths in the tea garden district of Jhapa in eastern Nepal, contrary to reports in the Indian media.

The army personnel and police battled to remove the debris of the British Embassy and rescue the people trapped under it. Three of the injured died in Manmohan Memorial Hospital during treatment and at least two more were receiving treatment.

The dead were identified as Sajan Shrestha of Gorkha district, his daughter Ashima and Bir Bahadur Majhi.

Four others were said to be badly injured and were under treatment at the hospital.

There were angry outbursts from locals and passersby who blamed the embassy authorities for the mishap.

In Sunsari, eastern Nepal, two men were killed, the police said. They were identified as Santosh Pariyar and his nephew Bimal Pariyar.

In Sankhuwasabha in eastern Nepal, at least 16 buildings were affected, including a police camp, a bank and a school.

Nepal's Parliament was in session when the quake struck, causing alarmed lawmakers to scream and run out for safety, causing Chairman Subash Nembang to adjourn the house for sometime.

The epicentre of the quake in Nepal was Taplejung and Sankhuwasabha, initial reports said.

Hundreds of people rushed out of their houses on to the streets in the cramped capital with little open space, crying and taking the names of gods as the tremors started.

It was the biggest tremor to hit the quake-prone nation after 1990 when thousands of people were killed in Nepal and Bihar in India.

The chaos was compounded by heavy rains and blackout. Telephone lines were disrupted and the dark roads were filled with the blare of ambulances.

There have been a series of warnings by international organisations that Nepal will be hit harder than Haiti -- struck by a 7-point Richter scale temblor in 2010 -- if another killer quake struck, because of the hill nation's lack of readiness to cope with disaster.

Kathmandu especially is chock-a-block with old decrepit buildings, which are endangered and liable to collapse, adding to the crisis.