Azernews.Az

By Amina Nazarli

The Azerbaijani government jointly with the country’s embassy in India is taking all the necessary measures to evacuate Azerbaijani citizens from Nepal, on the wake of the earthquake.

Hikmet Hajiyev, the spokesman for the Azerbaijan Foreign Ministry told Trend on April 26 that Azerbaijani citizens were among the victims of the earthquake.

Some 14 Azerbaijani citizens are living in Nepal, including six children, according to the embassy. As the result of the earthquake, one of the children was slightly injured. Doctors estimate his condition to be stable now.

The Azerbaijani president instructed the Emergency Situations Ministry to carry out the evacuation of citizens from the earthquake zone, the ministry said on April 26.

A major shallow earthquake hit near Kathmandu in Nepal, in the morning of April 25, which claimed the lives of 3,400 people. It is quite possible the number of dead in Kathmandu could rise to match it.

A magnitude 7.8 earthquake, struck one of the poorest nations on Earth, causing severe damage in the Kathmandu Valley. About 1.45 million people live in Kathmandu, the majority of which in poorly constructed homes not designed to withstand the kind of shaking seen on Saturday.

Rescue missions from China, the U.S., Canada, Australia, Japan, Sri Lanka aid material arrived in the country.

Seventeen people have been killed on Mt Everest by avalanches - the mountain's worst-ever disaster.

Meanwhile dozens of aftershocks, including magnitude 6.7 temblor on April 26 raising fresh panic across Nepal. A powerful aftershock was felt on Sunday in Nepal, India and Bangladesh, and more avalanches were reported near the Everest.

Back in 1934, the Bihar earthquake claimed the lives of 10,000 people.

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Amina Nazarli is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @amina_nazarli

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