A 5.6-magnitude earthquake struck western Nepal on Wednesday morning local time, killing at least five people, local officials said.
The quake’s epicenter was located in the Seti zone, at a depth of 15.7 kilometers (9.7 miles), according to the United States Geological Survey (USGS). It was 21 kilometers east of Deepayal, a municipality in Nepal’s western Doti district, the USGS said.
At least five people were killed and five injured in the rural Purbichauki township of Doti district, Bhola Bhatta, deputy commander of the Nepal Police of Doti district, told CNN.
One person was missing and three hours were completely destroyed by the earthquake, he said, adding that a search and rescue operation was underway.
Social media users reported feeling tremors as far away as Delhi.
Authorities do not expect a large number of casualties as the epicenter of the quake appeared to be in the sparsely populated area around Khaptad National Park, Bhatta said.
In 2015, a magnitude 7.8 earthquake shook Nepal, killing nearly 9,000 people and leveling homes and buildings.
The landlocked country is where the Indian and Eurasian tectonic plates collide, creating the Himalayas and the Tibetan Plateau and making Nepal vulnerable to earthquakes.
