Dozens killed after magnitude-7.3 earthquake strikes Nepal

At least 42 people were killed Tuesday and 1,117 have been injured after a major earthquake struck Nepal, triggering landslides and toppling buildings less than three weeks after the Himalayan nation was ravaged by its worst quake in decades.

 

Tuesday’s magnitude-7.3 earthquake was centered near the Chinese border between Nepal’s capital, Kathmandu, and Mt. Everest. It was followed closely by at least five aftershocks measuring from magnitude-5.6 to magnitude-6.3.

 

Within a few hours, the government confirmed that 42 people were killed and at least 1,117 injured, Home Ministry official Laxmi Dhakal said.

 

An official with the International Organization for Migration told the Associated Press a number of buildings collapsed in the isolated town of Chautara in central Nepal after the earthquake, killing at least 4 people.

 

Information was slow to reach the capital, Kathmandu, but officials and aid workers said they expected the death toll to almost certainly rise.

 

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