Nepal quake: Dozens of cracked buildings collapse

Dozens of buildings which had developed cracks in the April 25 temblor collapsed on Tuesday when another major earthquake shook the country.

An eyewitness said that he saw a building collapse here. Another said that he saw debris falling on a taxi packed with people.

Dust rose as the buildings began to collapse following the 7.3 magnitude earthquake, which struck at 12.40 p.m. Its epicentre was at Kodari and quite close to Mount Everest. Kodari is about 100 km northeast of Kathmandu.

Onlookers were left dazed and distraught on seeing the buildings collapse with a roar, a replay of the April 25 quake horror.

Three strong aftershocks, with one measuring 6.3 on the Richter scale, jolted the country within an hour.

As soon as the earthquake struck, there was no electricity in Kathmandu. The electricity supply had been restored with great difficulty following the April temblor.

Internet connectivity too snapped.

People desperate for news tried to get in touch through their mobile phones, but that too did not work. The mobile network was jammed.

(Anil Giri can be contacted at girianil@gmail.com)