KATHMANDU, Nepal — A magnitude 6.4 earthquake shook northwestern Nepal on Friday night, killing at least 69 people and injuring dozens more, according to officials.
The quake struck just before midnight, when many people were asleep. Tremors were also felt in India’s capital, New Delhi, hundreds of miles away.
As rescuers searched the mountainous villages where the earthquake struck, officials cautioned that the death toll was expected to rise, noting that communications were cut off with many of the affected areas.
The earthquake killed at least 35 people in Rukum District, where numerous houses collapsed, a police official, Narvaraj Bhattarai, said over the phone. Thirty injured people were taken to the hospital, Mr. Bhattarai said.
In neighboring Jajarkot District, 34 people were confirmed dead, according to Harish Chandra Sharma, a government official.
Nepal’s National Earthquake Monitoring and Research Center measured the earthquake at 6.4 magnitude and said its epicenter was in Jajarkot, in Karnali Province. Jajarkot is about 310 miles west of the capital, Kathmandu.
At least 20 people in Jajarkot were hospitalized with injuries, Suresh Sunar, a district official, told Reuters.
“I am out in the open myself,” Mr. Sunar told Reuters by phone. “We are collecting details, but due to cold and night, it is difficult to get information from remote areas. We have mobilized rescue personnel.”
Earthquakes are common in mountainous Nepal. A 7.8 magnitude earthquake in 2015 killed some 9,000 people and damaged about one million structures.
