Another Deadly Earthquake in Nepal

"I tried to run, but the whole house collapsed. I tried escaping, but half my body got buried in the debris."

"I screamed, but every one of my neighbours was in the same situation and screaming for help."

"It took nearly an half-hour to an hour before rescuers found me."

Bimal Kumar Karki, Nepal

"I was asleep at night and around ten or eleven at night it started shaking and the house caved."

"So many houses have collapsed and so many people have been buried [alive]."

Tika Ram Rana, Nepal

EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock

A strong earthquake struck Nepal's northwest region on Saturday in the middle of the night. Survivors describe sudden earth movement, and then houses collapsing, burying entire families. The early figure of the death toll rose to over 160, but it is assured that the count will rise as collapsed buildings and homes are searched for survivors and the numbers of dead are revealed. Most people were crushed by the debris that resulted when houses -- often stacked rocks and logs -- crumpled under the tremblor's force Friday night.

 

Army personnel carry an injured person on a stretcher in Jajarkot on Saturday. (Nepal Army/Reuters)

 

Many of the mountainous villages were approachable only by foot, with approach roads blocked by landslides triggered by the earthquake. Soldiers were seen clearing the blocked roads to enable rescuers to rush aid to the sites. The Nepal government is attempting to provide the affected area with aid, flying in tents, food and medicine.

Thousands of Nepalese are now homeless. The U.S. Geological Survey announced a preliminary magnitude of 5.6 occurring at a 18 kilometre depth. The epicenter was at Jajarkot, about 400 km northeast of the capital, Kathmandu, according to Nepal's National Earthquake Monitoring & Research Center.

Jajarkot district is a mostly agricultural area and there 105 people were confirmed dead. Another 52 were killed in neighbouring Rukum district, officials announced, while another 184 people were injured. Villagers aided by security officials worked through the night to extract the dead and injured from collapsed homes.

It is expected that the death toll will rise since communications were cut off in many areas. Over 100 beds were available at the regional hospital in the city of Nepalgunj, with teams of doctors standing by to provide medical attention to the injured. Small government and military planes, along with rescue helicopters able to land in short mountain strips were used to ferry the wounded to Nepalgunj.

Even in New Delhi, India's capital, the quake was felt, over 800 km away.

An aerial view shows damaged buildings in Jajarkot on Saturday. (Harihar Singh Rathore/AFP/Getty Images)