Kathmandu--A massive earthquake killed more than 1,200 people Saturday as it tore through large parts of Nepal, toppling office blocks and towers in Kathmandu and triggering a deadly avalanche at Everest base camp.
At least 1,170 people are known to have died in Nepal, officials said, making it the quake-prone and impoverished Himalayan nation's worst disaster in more than 80 years.
But the final toll from the 7.8 magnitude quake could be much higher, and dozens more people were reported killed in neighbouring India and China.
Offers of help poured in from governments around the world, with the United States and European Union announcing they were sending in disaster response teams, as emergency workers fanned out across Nepal to rescue those trapped under collapsed homes and buildings.
"The death toll has reached 1,170," Nepal police spokesman Kamal Singh Bam told AFP.
"Deaths have been reported from all regions except the far west. All our security personnel have been deployed to rescue and assist those in need."
The Red Cross (IFRC) said it was concerned about the fate of rural villages close to the epicentre of the quake northwest of the capital Kathmandu, where a historic tower collapsed.
"Roads have been damaged or blocked by landslides and communication lines are down preventing us from reaching local Red Cross branches to get accurate information," said IFRC Asia/Pacific director Jagan Chapagain.
AFP
