PICTURES: One of the worst earthquakes in decades occurs in Nepal, over 1,800 dead (WARNING: GRAPHIC IMAGES)

A massive earthquake killed more than 1,200 people
Saturday as it tore through large parts of Nepal, toppling
office blocks and towers in Kathmandu and triggering a
deadly avalanche at Everest base camp.
The government of Nepal has declared a state of
emergency after a 7.8-magnitude earthquake struck the
country and killed hundreds of people, touching off a deadly
avalanche on Mount Everest.
Officials said that more than 1,800 people were known to
have died on Saturday in Nepal's most powerful quake in
decades, that struck 80km east of Pokhara, about half way
between the town and the capital Kathmandu.
As aftershocks continued throughout Saturday, the toll was
was expected to rise significantly as the scale of the
disaster became clear.
Of the dead retrieved so far, 634 were reported dead in the
Kathmandu Valley and at least 300 more in the capital, a
police spokesman told Reuters news agency.
A further 36 fatalities were reported in northern India, 12 in
Tibet and four in Bangladesh.
Photos posted on Twitter showed buildings left in rubble,
large cracks along roads and worried residents on the
streets.
The earthquake destroyed many historical landmarks,
including the UNESCO World Heritage temples at
Basantapur Durbar Square and the Dharara tower, both in
central Kathmandu.
It has been reported that around 250 people may have been
in the Dharara tower when it collapsed. At least 50 people
are believed to be trapped under an ancient tower in
Kathmandu which collapsed in the quake.

Emergency workers and army and police personnel, with the
help of residents and bystanders, continued to work
tirelessly on Saturday to clear the rubble from these sites
and to rescue any survivors from under the debris, although
bodies were mostly being pulled out.

– Historic tower collapses –
Kathmandu was severely damaged, and the historic nine-
storey Dharahara tower, a major tourist attraction, was
among buildings brought down.
At least a dozen bodies were taken away from the ruins of
the 19th-century tower, according to an AFP photographer
who saw similar scenes of multiple casualties throughout
the city.
“It was difficult to breath, but I slowly moved the debris.
Someone then pulled me out. I don’t know where my friends
are,” Dharmu Subedi, 36, who was standing outside the
tower when it collapsed, said from a hospital bed.

At least 42 people were known to have died in India,
including 30 in the eastern state of Bihar, while buildings in
the capital New Delhi had to be evacuated.
The United States Geological Survey said the shallow quake
struck 77 kilometres (48 miles) northwest of Kathmandu at
0611 GMT, with walls crumbling and families racing outside
their homes.
The quake tore through the middle of highways in the
capital and also caused damage to the country’s only
international airport which was briefly closed.
Kari Cuelenaere, an official at the Dutch embassy, said the
impact had swept the water out of a swimming pool at a
Kathmandu hotel where Dutch national day was being
celebrated.
“It was horrible, all of a sudden all the water came up out of
the pool and drenched everyone, the children started
screaming,” Cuelenaere told AFP. “Some parts of the city
fell down, there was dust rising… There were many (rescue)
helicopters.”
Aftershock tremors could be felt more than two hours after
the initial quake.
USGS initially measured the quake at 7.5 magnitude and
later adjusted it to 7.8, with a depth of 15 kilometres.
Nepal and the rest of the Himalayas are particularly prone
to earthquakes because of the collision of the Indian and
Eurasia plates.
The thrust of the India plate beneath Eurasia generates a
large amount of seismic activity, the USGS says on its
website.
– Tremors felt across region –
A spokesman for Nepal’s home ministry said the
government had released around $500 million as
emergency funds for rescue operations.
India dispatched two military transport planes to help with
the rescue and relief efforts and there were similar offers
from around the region, including Sri Lanka and Pakistan.
The US
Agency for International Development (USAID) said a
disaster response was being flown to Nepal and that the
Obama administration had authorised an initial $1 million
“to address immediate needs.”
In Europe, Britain, Germany, Norway and Spain also pledged
support and assistance.
Chinese President Xi Jinping sent a message of
condolences to his Nepalese counterpart Ram Baran Yadav
and offered to provide assistance.
China’s official Xinhua news agency said that 13 people,
including an 83-year-old woman, were killed in the Tibet
region.
The area has a history of earthquakes, with a 6.8
magnitude quake that hit eastern Nepal in August 1988
killing 721 people. A magnitude 8.1 quake killed 10,700
people in Nepal and eastern India in 1934.
Credits: AFP/Al Jazeera)

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