At least four people were injured in Kathmandu and elsewhere due to a strong earthquake in the neighbouring Sindhupalchowk district early Friday morning.
According to the National Earthquake Monitoring and Research Centre, the 6.1-magnitude quake was recorded at 2.51 a.m. and had its epicentre at Bhairabkunda, Sindhupalchowk district, 65 km east of Kathmandu.
Some houses in Sindhupalchowk district developed cracks after the tremor hit the district. Besides Kathmandu Valley, the earthquake was also felt by people in southern and eastern Nepal, according to officials.
The earthquake prompted many people in Kathmandu and nearby areas to come out of their houses in panic. Two people were injured in Kathmandu while an inmate of Chautara prison was injured as he tried to escape following the earthquake.
An elderly man was injured in a village in Sindhupalchowk district as he tried to exit his house soon after the earthquake, officials said.
Nepal lies in one of the most active tectonic zones (Seismic zones IV and V), making the Himalayan nation extremely vulnerable to earthquakes.
So far, the worst quake it has witnessed was in April 2015, when a 7.8 magnitude quake killed more than 9,000 people and damaged over 1 million structures.