Powerful earthquake hits western Nepal, six killed; PM Deuba campaigning for election is safe
Kathmandu (PTI): At least six persons were killed when a powerful 6.6-magnitude earthquake jolted the remote mountainous region of western Nepal on early Wednesday, close to where Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba was campaigning for the upcoming elections.
According to the National Seismological Centre, the earthquake occurred at 2:12 am with its epicentre at Khaptad National Park in the Doti district of the quake-prone Himalayan nation, damaging scores of houses and sparking panic among the people who were sleeping.
Six persons have been killed and five sustained injuries in the earthquake, Home Ministry spokesperson Phanindra Pokharel told PTI over phone.
According to Nepal Army spokesperson Narayan Silwal three persons were missing and are believed to have been trapped in the housing collapse in Purvichauki. The Nepal Army has started searching for the missing persons, he said.
Nepal's Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba who is also in Western Nepal for an election campaign is safe. He was attending election rallies and meeting people at Dhangadhi district, 160 km South of the epicentre.
Nepal will be going for elections for the federal Parliament as well as the provincial assemblies on November 20.
The tremor was also felt in Dhangadhi though the Prime Minister is safe, according to Pokharel.
Adjustments will be made regarding the election campaign of the Prime Minister in Western Nepal keeping in mind the incident, he added.
Deuba has instructed officials to arrange immediate and proper treatment of injured in the earthquake-affected areas.
"I pay homage to those killed in the Dadeldhura earthquake and my condolences to the bereaved family members," Deuba tweeted.
"I also instruct the concerned authorities to speed up rescue and relief works and treatment of those injured in the incident," he added.
The Nepal Army and the Nepal Police personnel have been mobilised to carry out rescue operations.
Deputy Superintendent of Police Bhola Bhatta, the acting chief at the District Police Office in Doti, said that all the victims were killed by the debris of the houses damaged during the earthquake.
The identities of the deceased have been established of which two are women, two men, and two minors, Deputy Superintendent of Police Bhola Kumar Bhatta was quoted as saying by the Himalayan Times newspaper.
The earthquake sent people in the mountain villages panicking out of their houses and many spent the entire night out in the open, officials said.
Nearly eight houses collapsed in the quake and cracks had developed in most of the houses in the aftermath of the geological event.
Images shared by the Nepal Army showed rescue operations by them to find the victims buried by the earthquake-damaged houses. Videos posted on social media showed villagers moving debris by hand and trying to retrieve their belongings.
Those injured in the earthquake last night are undergoing treatment at the Doti Hospital.
A spokesperson of the Nepali Army Narayan Silwal said that the injured were rescued by a team of security personnel, including the Nepali Army and taken to the Doti Hospital by helicopter.
They were rescued by helicopter from Dhangadhi in Surkhet and Kailali. Along with the rescue, a team has been deployed in the area for those who urgently need food and tents, according to the Army.
The tremors were also felt in neighbouring Dhangadhi and Kailali districts.
The earthquake that was felt mildly in Kathmandu and parts of India has also caused damage to dozens of other houses in the district.
Earlier, a 5.7-magnitude tremor was recorded at 9.07 pm and another 4.1-magnitude tremor at 9.56 pm on Tuesday at the same epicentre, according to the Seismological Centre.
Earthquakes are frequent in mountainous Nepal.
On October 19, a 5.9-magnitude earthquake jolted Nepal's capital Kathmandu and adjoining areas, forcing many people to rush out of their homes for safety.
The earthquake was felt in the Kathmandu Valley and neighbouring districts. There was no report of any damage or casualties.
In April 2015, a devastating earthquake of 7.8-magnitude rocked Nepal, killing nearly 9,000 people and wounding nearly 22,000 others. It also damaged over 800,000 houses and school buildings.
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Israel launches first airstrike on Lebanon since ceasefire, accusing Hezbollah of breaching truce
Beirut, Nov 28: The Israeli military on Thursday said its warplanes fired on southern Lebanon after detecting Hezbollah activity at a rocket storage facility, the first Israeli airstrike a day after a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah took hold.
There was no immediate word on casualties from Israel's aerial attack, which came hours after the Israeli military said it fired on people trying to return to certain areas in southern Lebanon. Israel said they were violating the ceasefire agreement, without providing details. Lebanon's state-run National News Agency said two people were wounded.
The back-to-back incidents stirred unease about the agreement, brokered by the United States and France, which includes an initial two-month ceasefire in which Hezbollah members are to withdraw north of the Litani River and Israeli forces are to return to their side of the border. The buffer zone would be patrolled by Lebanese troops and UN peacekeepers.
On Thursday, the second day of a ceasefire after more than a year of bloody conflict between Israel and Hezbollah, Lebanon's state news agency reported that Israeli fire targeted civilians in Markaba, close to the border, without providing further details. Israel said it fired artillery in three other locations near the border. There were no immediate reports of casualties.
An Associated Press reporter in northern Israel near the border heard Israeli drones buzzing overhead and the sound of artillery strikes from the Lebanese side.
The Israeli military said in a statement that “several suspects were identified arriving with vehicles to a number of areas in southern Lebanon, breaching the conditions of the ceasefire.” It said troops “opened fire toward them” and would “actively enforce violations of the ceasefire agreement.”
Israeli officials have said forces will be withdrawn gradually as it ensures that the agreement is being enforced. Israel has warned people not to return to areas where troops are deployed, and says it reserves the right to strike Hezbollah if it violates the terms of the truce.
A Lebanese military official said Lebanese troops would gradually deploy in the south as Israeli troops withdraw. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to brief media.
The ceasefire agreement announced late Tuesday ended 14 months of conflict between Israel and Hezbollah that began a day after Hamas' Oct. 7, 2023 attack out of Gaza, when the Lebanese Hezbollah group began firing rockets, drones and missiles in solidarity.
Israel retaliated with airstrikes, and the conflict steadily intensified for nearly a year before boiling over into all-out war in mid-September. The war in Gaza is still raging with no end in sight.
More than 3,760 people were killed by Israeli fire in Lebanon during the conflict, many of them civilians, according to Lebanese health officials. The fighting killed more than 70 people in Israel — over half of them civilians — as well as dozens of Israeli soldiers fighting in southern Lebanon.
Some 1.2 million people were displaced in Lebanon, and thousands began streaming back to their homes on Wednesday despite warnings from the Lebanese military and the Israeli army to stay out of certain areas. Some 50,000 people were displaced on the Israeli side, but few have returned and the communities near the northern border are still largely deserted.
In Menara, an Israeli community on the border with views into Lebanon, around three quarters of homes are damaged, some with collapsed roofs and burnt-out interiors. A few residents could be seen gathering their belongings on Thursday before leaving again.
