Nepal hit by 7.3 magnitude earthquake near Mount Everest

© Prakash Mathema/AFP/Getty Images
Patients are carried out of a hospital building in Kathmandu after a 7.3 magnitude earthquake in Nepal on Tuesday.

    

Nepal has been hit by another strong earthquake, sending people in the capital Kathmandu rushing out on to the streets just weeks after a devastating quake killed more than 8,000 people and destroyed hundreds of thousands of homes.

The US Geological Survey initially said the quake had a magnitude of 7.1 and struck 42 miles (68km) west of the town of Namche Bazaar, close to Mount Everest. The quake was later upgraded to a magnitude of 7.3. Shockwaves were felt as far away as the Indian capital, Delhi, and Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh.

There were no immediate reports of casualties or major damage. Residents in the Indian town of Siliguri, near the border with Nepal, said chunks of concrete fell off one or two buildings.

Tuesday's quake came from a depth of 11.5 miles, deeper than the 9.3-mile depth of the quake on 25 April. More shallow earthquakes tend to cause more damage at the surface.

People in Kathmandu, panic-stricken after the 25 April quake, rushed outdoors, Reuters reporters said.

Parents could be seen clutching children tightly and hundreds of people were frantically trying to call relatives on their mobile phones. Shopkeepers closed their shops and the streets were jammed with people rushing to check on their families.

"I'm heading straight home," said Bishal Rai, a man in his 20s, who said he was trying to contact his family in the north of the capital.

"This is a really big one," said Prakash Shilpakar, the owner of a shop in Kathmandu who was trying to call his parents in Bhaktapur, a town devastated in the 25 April quake.

In Delhi buildings swayed for more than a minute and people scurried into the streets.

The quake's epicentre was close to Everest base camp, which was evacuated after an avalanche triggered by the 25 April quake killed 18 climbers. Mountaineering companies have called off their spring expeditions on the world's tallest peak.

Last month's quake killed at least 8,046 people and injured more than 17,800. It was recorded at 7.8 magnitude, almost four times stronger than Tuesday's quake.

But a 7.3 magnitude earthquake has the potential to cause significant damage and landslides.