Earthquake kills five in Nepal

Nepalese rescue workers and people look on after after the British Embassy's compound wall collapsed reportedly killing three pedestrians following an earthquake in Katmandu, Nepal, Sunday, Sept. 18, 2011. A strong earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 6.8 hit northeastern India on Sunday near the border with Nepal. Reports said several people were injured and some buildings fell in the capital of India's Sikkim state. In neighboring Nepal and Bangladesh, the quake sent residents rushing out their homes, offices and shopping centers. (AP Photo/Binod Joshi)

An earthquake, with its epicentre in Sikkim, shook capital Kathmandu and eastern Nepal on Sunday around 6.30 pm local time. The earthquake was reported to measure 6.8 on the Richter scale.

Five people – three in Kathmandu and two in the eastern town of Dharan – died as a result of the quake. Three persons, including an eight-year-old, died in Kathmandu, after a wall of the British embassy in Lainchaur area collapsed.

Indian embassy spokesperson Apoorva Srivastava told

The Hindu that all Indian diplomats in Nepal were safe and the Indian embassy building, which is adjacent to the British embassy, is stable.

Several people were being treated for injuries in the capital’s hospitals after they jumped off from their houses during the quake. Local television stations also reported damage to property in the eastern districts of Taplejung and Sankhuwasabha. Citizens in Kathmandu were terrified during the quake, and stayed out in open spaces for hours after the event anticipating aftershocks. Mobile phone networks were jammed.

A cabinet meeting decided to assess the damage caused by the quake and offer all possible assistance to those affected.

PTI adds:

A magnitude 6.8 quake jolted Bangladesh too on Sunday, sending panic across the country.

“We call it a strong earthquake on the basis of its magnitude,” a Bangladesh met office spokesman told PTI adding that the epicentre of the tremor was in the Indian state Sikkim and according to Pacific Tsunami Warning Center the coordinates were 27.8 north and 88.2 east.

Thousands of people rushed to the streets from their offices and residences in fright and called loved ones after the tremor started at around 6:45 p.m. but there was were no immediate report of injuries or damage.