Fresh earthquake in Nepal kills 16

Less than three weeks after the powerful 7.8 earthquake hit Nepal, killing over 8,000 people, another earthquake has struck the Asian country, leaving 16 dead.

The earthquake, which hit the country early on Tuesday, is said to have a magnitude of 7.3, setting the nation back on its road to recovery.

According to a spokesman for the international organisation for migration, four people died in Chautara in Sindhupalchowk district, north of the capital Kathmandu, after several buildings collapsed.

Officials also confirmed that more than 800 people sustained injuries, with a majority in Sindhupalchowk region, where the heaviest death toll in the April 25 quake was recorded.

“The latest earthquake has left us shaken. I am still trembling,” said the official, who identified himself as Diwakar Koirala.

The United States geological survey (USGS) said Tuesday’s earthquake was centred 68 km (about 42 miles) west of the town of Namche Bazar, close to Mount Everest and the border with Tibet.

The quake was six times less than the previous one, but it felt as far apart as New Delhi and Dhaka, the capital city of Bangladesh.

According to Reuters, residents in the Indian town of Siliguri, near the border with Nepal, said chunks of concrete fell off one or two buildings.

Ram Prasad Sharma, a home ministry official in Kathmandu, could not properly assess the situation, as affected phone networks in the country crippled swift information collation.

“We are getting messages that many people have vacated their houses and the temporary shelters. This is only information we have now,” he said.

The 7.3 quake was followed 30 minutes later by another large aftershock, centred on the district of Ramechhap, east of Kathmandu, that had a magnitude of 6.3.

According to Home ministry officials, the death toll is expected to rise sharply.