At least 128 people have been reported dead due to the 6.4 magnitude earthquake that struck Nepal's Jajarkot district late on Friday, reports said.
The earthquake jolted the western Jajarkot district at around 2:02 a.m. local time Saturday (1802 GMT Friday) with a depth of 18 km, according to the US Geological Survey.
The quake killed at least 35 people in Rukum district and 34 others in neighboring Jajarkot district, officials confirmed.
Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal expressed sorrow at the loss of life and property in the quake and ordered immediate rescue and relief operations in a post on social media X, formerly known as Twitter.
Nepal's officials have ensured all the helicopter operators to be on standby to assist in airlifting the injured from the affected areas, while the regular flight operations have also been suspended and ambulance services are put on alert at Nepalgunj Airport and military barrack helipad.
Several buildings and structures are seen rubble and the roads were blocked and bridges damaged, reports said. The impact of the quake was felt in neighboring India's capital, New Delhi. The tremors hit the far western side of Nepal at a depth of just 18 kilometers, said the US Geological Survey.
Nepal lies on a major geological fault-line wherein the Indian tectonic plate pushes up into the Eurasian plate, said USGS, which makes earthquakes a regular occurrence in this Himalayan nation.
In 2015, a 7.8-magnitude earthquake killed some 9,000 people and damaged more than half a million houses in the mountainous country.
