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Death toll reaches 1457 in Nepal after massive earthquake; first batch of Indians evacuated

Death toll in India reaches 51

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An earthquake measuring 7.9 magnitude struck west of the ancient Nepali capital of Kathmandu on Saturday, causing buildings to collapse, injuring many and leaving a pall of dust over the city, witnesses said. The death toll has crossed 1457 as Kathmandu's decrepit buildings, crisscrossed by narrow alleys, are home to large families. A 1934 quake of magnitude 8.3 in the Himalayan nation had killed over 8,500 people. On Saturday night, IAF evacuated 55 Indians from Kathmandu. More are likely to be evacuated tommorow. 

At least 51 people on Sunday were  killed and 237 injured in various parts of the country in a powerful earthquake, with epicentre in Nepal, which destroyed or damaged several houses and buildings.

Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal, bordering Nepal, were the worst-hit parts of India in the quake measuring 7.9 on the Richter Scale. Minister of State for Home Kiren Rijiju told PTI that Bihar accounted for the highest number of deaths--38--and 133 people were injured in the state.

In Uttar Pradesh, 11 deaths took place and 69 people were injured while in West Bengal 2 persons perished and 35 were injured in the quake, he said. With Prime Minister Narendra Modi himself monitoring the situation and issuing directives, massive rescue and relief operations were initiated on a war footing.

The Prime Minister, who took stock of the situation at a high-level meeting here, directed immediate dispatch of rescue and relief teams, including medical staff, to the affected areas. He also spoke to Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, Sikkim Chief Minister Pawan Kumar Chamling and Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan.
The central government's Crisis Management Committee, headed by Cabinet Secretary Ajit Seth, is holding regular meetings to keep a watch on the situation.

The quake reportedly lasted for about a minute. The epicentre of the earthquake is Pokhara in Nepal.

Meanwhile Indian army has recovered 13 out of 18 bodies evacuated from Everest base camp. 

Here are a few emergency contact numbers:

Meanwhile, Air India said it would resume its flights to and from Kathmandu on Sunday. 

Earlier, former Nepal PM Baburam Bhattarai posted pictures of the disaster on Facebook. 

भयंकर भूकम्प!!!गोरखाको बूटारमा भत्केको यो घर! वरपर पहिरोको विनाश!!सबै उद्धार र राहतमा जुटौं!!

Posted by Dr. Baburam Bhattarai on Friday, April 24, 2015

Prime Minister Narendra Modi stated that India would reach out to those affected by the quake. “We are in the process of finding more information and are working to reach out to those affected, both at home & in Nepal,” he added.

Ambassador-designate of Nepal here Deep Kumar Upadhyay said his country needs mobile medical assistant units from India, besides other help. He thanked India for stepping in and offering help saying, "We have been in touch with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Rajnath Singh. Our President is in touch with them and they have offered to help us. I thank India on behalf of Nepal for assisting us".

Meanwhile, India has kept its transport aircraft and C17 Globemaster, C-130 Hercules and helicopters on standby. 

The tremors were felt strongly in Kolkata. People rushed out of their homes after the furnitures in their homes started shaking. Some have complained of feeling nauseous. Rahul Kumar, from Delhi has said, "It was like someone was shaking my bed." People took to social media after experiencing the quake. Here are a few reactions.

With agency inputs 

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