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Airport in Nepal’s Kathmandu resumes flight operations after powerful quake

Indian Meteorological Department registered a magnitude 7.1 earthquake at 12.35 local time earlier on Tuesday, followed by two aftershocks of magnitude 5.4 and 6.2

© EPA/HEMANTA SHRESTHA

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Two aftershocks strike Nepal following magnitude 7.1 earthquake

NEW DELHI, May 12. /TASS/. Tribhuvan International Airport near Nepal’s capital Kathmandu has resumed flight operations after a new earthquake that struck the country earlier today, Nepal police spokesman Kamal Singh Ban told TASS on Tuesday.

"The airport returned to operating in routine mode," Ban said, adding that operations will again be suspended in case of powerful aftershocks.

At least seven people have been killed in the disaster. "We have information that four people died in the Sindhupalchok district in the central part of the country and three people in Kathmandu," he said. "Around 150 people were injured," he added.

Tremors were felt in India, and metro in New Delhi and Kolkata suspended operations. Press Trust of India news agency reported that 10 people died in the western Indian state of Bihar, where several buildings collapsed as a result of an earthquake.

Indian Meteorological Department registered a magnitude 7.1 earthquake at 12.35 local time earlier on Tuesday, followed by two aftershocks of magnitude 5.4 and 6.2. The epicenter of the earthquake lay 80 kilometers to the east of Nepal’s capital Kathmandu at the depth of 18 kilometers. US Geological Survey measured the earthquake at 7.4.

This is not the first powerful earthquake that strikes the South Asian nation. On April 25, the devastating 7.9 magnitude earthquake rocked the South Asian nation. Around 90 aftershocks were registered after it, with the strongest one measuring up to 6.9.

According to the latest data, the death toll of the disaster has exceeded 8,400 people, while more than 17,000 others were injured. More than 300,000 houses were destroyed in the disaster, while 254,000 more were seriously damaged.

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