Quake claims 34 lives in India

At least 34 people died in India on Saturday due to the massive earthquake that had its epicentre in Nepal, the home ministry said.

"As per the latest information, 34 deaths have been confirmed so far, with 23 deaths in Bihar, eight in Uttar Pradesh and three in West Bengal," the ministry said in a statement.

In order to deal with the situation in the affected states, five teams of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) have already been sent -- one to Gorakhpur in Uttar Pradesh and one each to Darbhanga, Supaul, Motihari and Gopalganj in Bihar.

The statement said the impact of the earthquake was felt in almost all northern states in India, particularly in Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Sikkim and West Bengal.

The ministry has been in constant touch with all the affected states to assess the situation. Each team of the NDRF consists of 45 personnel who are fully equipped with modern equipment to deal with search and rescue operations.

The team also includes medical and paramedic personnel. The teams have equipment such as live detector machines, cutters which can cut steel, concrete and wood.

The statement said the National Crisis Management Committee (NCMC) in the cabinet secretariat has already met and reviewed the situation through video-conferencing with the chief secretaries of the affected states.

The NCMC will be meeting regularly to take stock of the situation and the relief measures. The central government was in constant touch with the states and monitoring the situation very closely.

The states will be provided with all possible help from the central government, the statement added. - IANS