KATHMANDU: A new earthquake and powerful aftershocks killed dozens of people and brought fresh terror to a traumatised Nepal on Tuesday as buildings already damaged in a monster quake last month came tumbling down. Only weeks after the country’s deadliest quake in more than 80 years, terrified residents once again fled onto the streets while lawmakers had to scurry from parliament as the earth began shaking beneath their feet. A second tremor of 6.3-magnitude struck Nepal around half an hour later, followed by yet more aftershocks, according to the USGS. Nepalese television showed buildings including parliament swaying as the earth moved underneath, while footage also emerged of fresh landslides in rural areas. “At an hour of a natural disaster like this, we have to face it with courage and patience,” Nepal’s Prime Minister Sushil Koirala said after an emergency meeting of his cabinet. The Nepalese government has acknowledged that it was overwhelmed by the scale of the April 25 disaster which destroyed nearly 300,000 homes and left many more too dangerous to live in any more. Laxmi Prasad Dhakal, a spokesman for Nepal’s home ministry, said 36 people were killed and 1,129 were injured. The districts of Dolakha and Sindhupalchowk, two of the worst affected by the original quake last month, bore the brunt of the damage once more. “Many houses have collapsed in Dolakha, many houses have collapsed and there is a chance that the number of dead from the district will go up,” said Home Minister Bam Dev Gautam. The Red Cross said it had received reports of large-scale casualties in the town of Chautara in Sindhupalchowk, where its Norwegian branch is running a field hospital. “Now hundreds of people are pouring in. They are treating dozens for injuries and they have performed more than a dozen surgeries,” said Red Cross spokeswoman Nichola Jones. Patrick Fuller, another Red Cross spokesman, said there also had been reports of landslides in Tatopani, near the Chinese border. Save the Children said two major buildings had collapsed in Kathmandu’s Balaju Nayabazar area while many more multi-storey buildings were showing large fissures. Meanwhile, a US Marine Corps helicopter carrying out earthquake relief in Nepal was reported missing on Tuesday with eight personnel on board, officials said. “The incident occurred near Charikot, Nepal while the aircraft was conducting humanitarian assistance and disaster relief operations,” said Major Dave Eastburn, spokesman for US Pacific Command.
Tremors rattle India NEW DELHI: Another major earthquake jolted Nepal on Tuesday and the tremors were felt across India for over 30 seconds, leaving at least eight people dead in Bihar and two in Uttar Pradesh. The National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) was put on alert for rescue and relief operations. The quake measuring 7.3 on the Richter scale shook Nepal, nearly three weeks after a more powerful temblor killed over 8,000 people in the Himalayan nation. The tremors were also felt in parts of northern and eastern India including Delhi, Patna, Lucknow, Guwahati, Bhubaneswar and Jaipur.
