DHAKA: A 7.8 magnitude earthquake centered less than 50 miles from Kathmandu rocked Nepal with devastating force early Saturday, killing nearly 700 people – and probably more – in Nepal’s capital city.

Authorities said, reports CNN.

Historic buildings in Kathmandu lay in rubble on the ground. The injured were being treated outside hospitals in chaotic scenes. Residents, terrorized by a seemingly endless series of aftershocks, huddled outdoors.

The death toll was reported by Laxmi Dhakal, a spokesperson for Nepal’s home ministry. But given that the rescue effort is still in its early stages and that people in outlying areas may well have been affected, as well, it seems probable that the number will rise.

And Kathmandu, which sits in a valley surrounded by the Himalayas, has a population of 1 million people.

Some people who experienced the quake spoke by telephone with CNN, describing scenes of chaos, fear and suffering.

CNN's Manesh Shrestha said he saw five bodies at a hospital to which he walked to seek treatment for his own injuries. People with severe injuries were lying outside, with doctors administering CPR to at least one person, Shrestha said.

‘It’s quite chaotic,’ he said by phone. ‘People are wailing, crying’.

Shrestha, who needed stitches, was turned away because other people were in more dire need of care. He said he saw people with broken bones and severe head injuries.

Avalanches hit Mount Everest, sending mountaineers running for cover.

‘Everest base camp huge earthquake then huge avalanche from pumori,’ Twitter user Alex Gavan said. ‘Running for life from my tent. Unhurt. Many many people up the mountain.’

** Nepal death toll stands 600

BDST: 1854 HRS, APR 25, 2015
RR