Six dead after earthquake hits Nepal, tremors felt in New Delhi

A magnitude 6.6 earthquake struck in western Nepal at about 2 am local time (20:15 GMT) causing several houses to collapse.

A magnitude 6.6 earthquake has struck Nepal, killing at least six people, injuring several others, and destroying multiple houses in the northwestern district of Doti, officials said.

The earthquake, which hit at about 2 am local time on Wednesday (20:15 GMT), sent tremors into northern India.

Bhola Bhatta, deputy superintendent of police in Doti, said that four children were among the fatalities that occurred when eight houses collapsed after the earthquake struck the mountainous western region.

The police chief confirmed earlier information provided by home ministry official Tulsi Rijal.

The deceased included an 8-year-old boy, a 13-year-old girl, two 14-year-old girls, a 40-year-old woman, and a 50-year-old man, Bhatta said.

A ground rescue team has been rushed to the site, and two helicopters were on standby in nearby Surkhet and Nepalgunj towns, a spokesperson for the Nepali army, Brigadier-General Narayan Silwal, said.

The earthquake was centred approximately 160km (100 miles) northeast of Pilibhit, a populous city in the neighbouring Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, and occurred at a depth of 10km, the European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC) said.

Agencies