DHAKA: At least 19 people were killed in Nepal and 981 injured in an earthquake on Tuesday, home ministry official Laxmi Prasad Dhakal said, giving a first national estimate.

Five died in Sindhupalchowk, the district to the east of Kathmandu that reported the most deaths in the April 25 shaker, district administrator Krishna Gwayali said. He said the deaths were on a highway towards Tibet.

Six more were killed in Dolakha district close to the epicentre, an eyewitness said, adding that rescuers were trying to reach three people trapped in a house. In the capital three people died, a police official told Reuters.

In neighboring India, at least five people were killed when buildings collapsed. One man was killed by falling rocks in Chinese Tibet, reports The Straits Times.

** 7.4-magnitude quake hits Nepal

BDST: 1727 HRS, MAY 12, 2015
RR