Earthquake; Death toll in India climbs to 53

New Delhi, Apr 26: The powerful quake, with epicentre in Nepal, which shook various parts of the country has left 53 people dead and 240 injured even as operations have been stepped up to rescue those feared trapped under the rubble.

According to the Home Ministry, the toll in the quake in India has climbed to 53 while 240 were injured. Details of the casualties were awaited.

Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal, bordering Nepal, were the worst-hit parts of India in the quake measuring 7.9 on the Richter Scale.

Minister of State for Home Kiren Rijiju had said that Bihar accounted for the highest number of deaths--38--and 133 people were injured in the state.

In Uttar Pradesh, 11 deaths took place and 69 people were injured while in West Bengal 2 persons perished and 35 were injured in the quake, he said.

Massive rescue and relief operations have been initiated on a war footing. The Prime Minister, who yesterday took stock of the situation at a high-level meeting here, had directed immediate dispatch of rescue and relief teams, including medical staff, to the affected areas.

Home Secretary L C Goyal said five teams of National Disaster Response Force, comprising 45 personnel each, were dispatched to Bihar and Uttar Pradesh for conducting rescue and relief operations.

"Our focus is on rescue operations. The damage assessment will follow in some time. Paramilitary personnel were also put on alert so that they could be deployed at a short notice," he said.

Rijiju said a total of 460 NDRF personnel have been dispatched to Nepal along with all rescue gears to help the local administration in rescue operations.

PTI