Nearly 900 people are reportedly dead after a powerful 7.8-magnitude earthquake hit near Katmandu, the capital of Nepal, Saturday.
Nepali police believe that the number of dead will rise, as there are around 2.5 million people who live in the city and the valley, reports The Wall Street Journal. The epicenter was 50 miles northwest of the city.
“There has been a huge impact all over the country and we are assessing the situation,” Lakshmi Prasad Dhakal, spokesman for the Home Ministry, said. “A lot of people are feared trapped inside the debris of the buildings.”
As Nepal is one of the poorest nations in the world, many of the older buildings could not survive the quake. “Buildings here are mostly old, brick buildings and the streets are littered with bricks, debris, loads of dust,” Abigail Hunter, an American traveling there, told ABC News. “[It] was hard to see during the earthquake with all the dust."
After the initial quake, a 6.6-magnitude quake hit, followed by smaller aftershocks.
The quake also caused a deadly avalanche at Mount Everest. At least eight people at the base camp were reported dead, but at least one team of climbers is safe, reports USA today. Daniel Mazur, who was leading that expedition, posted on Facebook, “We felt the earthquake on the north side, but have no damage and all are safe.”
The quake could also be felt in India, where 28 people were killed. A Chinese media official said that two people were killed in China. The indian government has also offered Nepal assistance in getting rescue teams and supplies.