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The Nepalese authorities said that the number of victims is expected to rise in the coming hours, taking into account the loss of communications with many villages.
Gary S. Chapman
Nepalese authorities said on Friday that an earthquake measuring 6.4 on the Richter scale in Nepal killed at least 54 people in the northwestern mountainous region, expecting the number of victims to rise.
The National Center for Earthquake Monitoring and Research in Nepal measured the magnitude of the earthquake at 6.4 and indicated that its epicenter was in Jajarkot, which is about 400 kilometers northeast of the Nepalese capital, Kathmandu.
An earthquake shook the northwestern regions of Nepal, and authorities said that at least 54 people were killed and dozens injured while rescue teams searched mountain villages.
The earthquake killed at least 20 people in the Rukum district, where several houses collapsed, police officer Narvaraj Bhattarai said in a phone conversation reported by the Associated Press.
In neighboring Jajarkot district, 17 people were confirmed dead, said Harish Chandra Sharma, a government administration official.
The US Geological Survey initially said the quake had a magnitude of 5.6 and occurred at a depth of 17.9 kilometers.
The quake occurred shortly before midnight, when many people were sleeping in their homes, and the quake was also felt in the Indian capital, New Delhi.
Earthquakes are common in the mountains of Nepal.
In 2015, a 7.8-magnitude earthquake killed about 9,000 people and damaged about a million buildings.
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