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A dozen feared killed after quake topples landmark tower in Nepal

Xinhua, April 25, 2015 Adjust font size:

Some a dozen people were killed as a landmark nine-storey tower collapsed in Kathmandu on Saturday after a 7.7-magnitude quake shook the Nepali capital, local press reported.

Around a dozen bodies were seen taken away from the ruins of the Dharhara tower in the centre of the Nepali capital which underwent massive damage when the quake struck at 11: 45 a.m. local time, witnesses said.

The tower was razed to the ground and there were reports of people trapped underneath the rubbles.

Built in 1832, the Dharara Tower was a historic landmark that had been open to visitors for the last 10 years.

Dozens of the injured people have been brought to the main hospital in central Kathmandu, reports said.

Nepal's Information Minister Minendra Rijal told the media that damages had been reported in and around Kathmandu but there was no immediate estimate on fatalities.

National radio warned people to stay outdoors and keep calm as more aftershocks were feared. A 6.6-magnitude aftershock struck about an hour after the initial tremor. Endi