Western Nepal hit by magnitude 5.6 earthquake killing at least five people, say officials | CNN

CNN
 — 

A magnitude 5.6 earthquake hit western Nepal on Wednesday morning local time, killing at least five people, according to local officials.

The epicenter of the quake was located in Seti Zone, with a depth of 15.7 kilometers (9.7 miles), according to the United States Geological Survey (USGS). It was 21 kilometers east of Dipayal, a muncipality of Nepal’s far western Doti district, the USGS said.

At least five people have died and five are injured in Doti district’s Purbichauki rural municipality, Bhola Bhatta, Nepal police’s deputy superintendent of the Doti district told CNN.

One person is missing and three hours were completely destroyed in the earthquake, said, adding that a search and rescue operation was underway.

Social media users reported feeling tremors as far as Delhi.

Authorities are not expecting large number of casualties as the earthquakes epicenter appeared to be in the sparsely populated area around Khaptad National Park, Bhatta said.

In 2015, a 7.8-magnitude earthquake rocked Nepal, killing nearly 9,000 people and flattening homes and buildings.

The landlocked country is where the tectonic plates of India and Eurasia collide, creating the Himalayas and the Tibetan plateau, and making Nepal vulnerable to earthquakes.