At least 129 people killed after deadly earthquake strikes Nepal, toppling homes

At least 129 people died in an earthquake in a faraway area of northwest Nepal on Friday night. Many buildings collapsed, and the number of victims might increase, according to officials.

The earthquake was 5. 6 on the scale used to measure earthquakes. It happened about 26 miles away from Jumla, Nepal, in Karnali province. The earthquake was not very deep, only 18 kilometers below the surface. The shaking was felt all the way in New Delhi, which is India’s capital.

The police spokesperson of Nepal, Kuber Kadayat, informed CNN that till now 129 people have been confirmed dead and 140 injured. This earthquake on Friday has been the deadliest one since 2015.

In Jajarkot district, which was near where the earthquake started, 92 people were found to be dead and 55 others got hurt. In a district close by called Rukam West, 37 people died and 85 people got hurt, according to Kadayat.

Videos from Reuters showed many houses in Jajarkot completely destroyed, with only piles of broken bricks and wood remaining.

Nepal has a lot of earthquakes because it is located where two big parts of the land, called tectonic plates, meet. This is also why there are big mountains there called the Himalayas.

In 2015, a very strong earthquake with a magnitude of 7. 8 happenedIt caused a lot of destruction to many homes and buildings in different parts of the country. Sadly, around 9,000 people died because of it. The earthquake also caused about $6 billion worth of damage.

Government officials said they were worried that the number of people killed or injured in the earthquake on Friday would increase. This is because they have not been able to communicate with the area near the center of the earthquake, which is about 500 kilometers (300 miles) away from the capital city Kathmandu. People in the hilly area near the center also felt the earthquake.

The official from Jajarkot district said that many people are hurt and there could be a lot of deaths too.

A lot of houses have fallen down and many others have cracks on them. Many people had to stay outside all night because they were too afraid to go inside their damaged homes after aftershocks happened.

Jajarkot district has around 190,000 people living in it, and the villages are spread out in the faraway hills. Photos released by the AFP news agency showed people who had survived coming together at the main hospital in Jajarkot.

India’s leader, Narendra Modi, shared his sadness and sympathy with the family and friends of the people who died in the earthquake.

Modi expressed that he was very sad about the loss of lives and damage caused by the earthquake in Nepal. India supports and stands together with Nepal. We are prepared to offer any help that we can. We are thinking about the families who have lost loved ones and we hope those who are hurt get better soon.