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Pre-dawn temblor sends Nepal residents scurrying for cover

A moderate intensity earthquake, measuring 5.6 on the Richter Scale, on Monday shook Nepal’s Capital Kathmandu and other central and eastern regions, creating panic among people, who fled their homes after being jolted by the pre-dawn tremor.

There were no immediate reports of casualties or damages, officials said.

The epicentre was located at Solukhumbu district near the Everest region, around 150 km east of Kathmandu, Nepal’s National Seismological Center said. It recorded the intensity of the quake at 5.6.

The epicentre was at latitude 27.79 degree North and longitude 86.5 degree East, about 120 kilometres east of the capital, Kathmandu, the NSC said.

The quake was also felt in Kathmandu. People fled their houses after they were woken by the pre-dawn earthquake.

Tremor-triggered avalanche kills guide 

A 43-year-old Nepali guide died and a British climber was injured when an earthquake triggered an avalanche on the Himalayan peak they were climbing, an expedition operator said.
They were part of a 13-member team climbing the 6,812-metre Ama Dablam peak in the Everest region when the 5.6-magnitude quake struck.

“The avalanche occurred after the quake hit,” said Iswari Paudel, managing director of Himalayan Guides.

He added: “The two were airlifted, but the guide died on the way. The British climber suffered minor injuries and is undergoing treatment in Kathmandu.” 

Paudel said all other team members are safe.

Nepal is recovering from a devastating 7.8 magnitude earthquake last year that killed 9,000 people, including 18 who died when an avalanche hit the Everest base camp.

Monday’s tremor was the 475th aftershock, of magnitude 4 and above, of the devastating April 2015 temblor in the quake-prone Himalayan country.

In April 2014, 16 guides were killed on Mount Everest when an avalanche struck, causing a virtual shutdown of the world’s highest peak for the remainder of the season.

Mountaineering is a major revenue-earner for the Himalayan nation, home to eight of the world’s 14 peaks over 8,000 metres. 

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