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| A Mexican rescue worker stands at the site of a building that collapsed in an earthquake in Kathmandu, Nepal, Tuesday, May 12, 2015. A major earthquake has hit Nepal near the Chinese border between the capital of Kathmandu and Mount Everest less than three weeks after the country was devastated by a quake. |
KATHMANDU, Nepal
(AP) -- A new earthquake killed dozens of people Tuesday and spread
more fear and misery in Nepal, which is still struggling to recover from
a devastating quake nearly three weeks ago that left more than 8,000
dead.
A U.S. Marine Corps helicopter carrying
six Marines and two Nepalese soldiers was reported missing while
delivering disaster aid in northeastern Nepal, U.S. officials said,
although there have been no indications the aircraft crashed.
Tuesday's
magnitude-7.3 quake, centered midway between Kathmandu and Mount
Everest, struck hardest in the foothills of the Himalayas, triggering
some landslides, but it also shook the capital badly, sending thousands
of terrified people into the streets.
Nepal's
Parliament was in session when the quake hit, and frightened lawmakers
ran for the exits as the building shook and the lights flickered out.
At
least 37 people were killed in the quake and more than 1,100 were
injured, according to the Home Ministry. But that toll was expected to
rise as reports began reaching Kathmandu of people in isolated Himalayan
towns and villages being buried under rubble, according to the U.N.'s
Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.
Tremors
radiated across parts of Asia. In neighboring India, at least 16 people
were confirmed dead after rooftops or walls collapsed onto them,
according to India's Home Ministry. Chinese media reported one death in
Tibet.
The magnitude-7.8 earthquake that hit
April 25 killed more than 8,150 and flattened entire villages, leaving
hundreds of thousands homeless in the country's worst-recorded quake
since 1934. The U.S. Geological Survey said Tuesday's earthquake was the
largest aftershock to date of that destructive quake.
Tuesday's
temblor was deeper, however, coming from a depth of 18.5 kilometers
(11.5 miles) versus the earlier one at 15 kilometers (9.3 miles).
Shallow earthquakes tend to cause more damage.
At
least three people were rescued Tuesday in Kathmandu, while another
nine pulled to safety in the district of Dolkha, the government said.
Rescue
helicopters were sent to mountain districts where landslides and
collapsed buildings may have buried people, the government said. Home
Ministry official Laxmi Dhakal said the Sindhupalchowk and Dolkha
districts were the worst hit.
Search parties
fanned out to look for survivors in the wreckage of collapsed buildings
in Sindhupalchowk's town of Chautara, which had become a hub for
humanitarian aid after last month's quake.
Impoverished
Nepal appealed for billions of dollars in aid from foreign nations, as
well as medical experts to treat the wounded and helicopters to ferry
food and temporary shelters to hundreds of thousands left homeless amid
unseasonal rains.
In Washington, Navy Capt.
Chris Sims said the missing Huey helicopter was conducting disaster
relief operations near Charikot, Nepal.
A
nearby Indian helicopter heard radio chatter about a possible fuel
problem, said U.S. Army Col. Steve Warren. The Huey, carrying tarps and
rice, had dropped off supplies and was headed to a second site when
contact was lost, he said, adding that there has been no smoke or other
signs of a crash.
A Nepalese air brigade unit
had seen the Huey, so Marines in V-22 Osprey aircraft searched
unsuccessfully near its last known location for about 90 minutes, Warren
said. Members of the Nepalese army are searching on foot because of
darkness, he added.
Due to the rugged terrain,
the helicopter could have landed in an area where the crew was unable
to get a beacon or radio signal out, Warren said.
Tuesday's quake was followed closely by at least 10 strong aftershocks, according to the USGS.
Early
reports indicated at least two buildings had collapsed in Kathmandu,
though at least one had been unoccupied due to damage it sustained on
April 25. Experts say the earlier quake caused extensive structural
damage even in buildings that did not topple, and that many could be in
danger of collapse.
Frightened residents in
the capital, who had returned to their homes only a few days ago, once
again set up tents Tuesday night with plans to sleep in empty fields,
parking lots and on sidewalks.
"Everyone was
saying the earthquakes are over. ... Now I don't want to believe
anyone," said 40-year-old produce vendor Ram Hari Sah as he searched for
a spot to pitch the orange tarpaulin to shelter his family. "We are all
scared, we are terrified. I would rather deal with mosquitoes and the
rain than sleep in the house."
Extra police
were sent to patrol ad-hoc camping areas, while drinking water and extra
tents were being provided, according to Kathmandu administrator Ek
Narayan Aryal.
"I thought I was going to die
this time," said Sulav Singh, who rushed with his daughter into a street
in the suburban neighborhood of Thapathali. "Things were just getting
back to normal, and we get this one."
Paul
Dillon, a spokesman with the International Organization for Migration,
said he saw a man in Kathmandu who had apparently run from the shower
with shampoo covering his head. "He was sitting on the ground, crying,"
Dillon said.
Meanwhile, new landslides blocked
mountain roads in the district of Gorkha, one of the regions hit
hardest on April 25, while previously damaged buildings collapsed with
the latest quake.
Residents of the small town
of Namche Bazaar, about 50 kilometers (35 miles) from the epicenter of
Tuesday's quake and well known to high-altitude trekkers, said a couple
of buildings damaged earlier had collapsed there as well. However, there
were no reports of deaths or injuries.
The
earth also shook strongly in neighboring Tibet, unleashing a landslide
that killed one person and injured three, according to China Central
Television. Two houses collapsed, the state broadcaster said, quoting
disaster officials of the regional Tibetan government.
