At least 157 killed as strong earthquake rattles Nepal

At least 157 people have died in a strong earthquake in Nepal, according to police in the capital Kathmandu.

In addition, 170 people were injured, a police spokesman told dpa on Saturday.

According to measurements by the National Earthquake Monitoring Centre (NEMRC), the quake had a magnitude of 6.4 and occurred at 11:47 pm (1802 GMT) on Friday.

The US Geological Survey put the magnitude at 5.6.

The area experienced at least three aftershocks in the following hour with a magnitude of at least 4.2.

The quake was also felt in neighbouring northern India, including in the capital New Delhi, the Times of India and other Indian media reported.

The Himalayan region, where Nepal is located, is geologically extremely active.

The Indian continental plate is shifting under the Eurasian plate at a rate of around two centimetres per year, which repeatedly leads to powerful earthquakes.

"We have reports according to which many people are still buried under the rubble," said a representative of the local administration in the Jajarkot district, near the epicentre of the quake.

Briefly after the quake hit, rescue efforts were under way in some of the affected villages, he said. However, he added that emergency crews were struggling to reach some areas due to landslides that blocked roads.

Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal visited Jajarkot by helicopter on Saturday and met injured people at a local hospital, media reported. Injured people were also to be airlifted to hospitals for emergency treatment as the affected areas do not have the necessary infrastructure, according to local media reports.

Sete Giri, a representative of a Jajarkot village, said hundreds of houses, many built from stone and clay, had been damaged in the quake, forcing many people to spend the night outdoors.

The affected area is among Nepal's poorest, partially lacking basic infrastructure such as roads.

According to Giri, many people who work in neighbouring India had recently returned home ahead of Diwali, the Hindu festival of lights.

Nepal experienced a particularly severe earthquake in 2015 which shook the area around the capital Kathmandu and caused numerous buildings to collapse. About 9,000 people lost their lives and millions were left homeless.