KATHMANDU: At least one person was killed and three injured while several houses were destroyed after a 5.9-magnitude earthquake rocked Nepal’s far-western Bajura district on Tuesday afternoon, officials said.

A woman who was climbing up a mountain to collect fodder was crushed to death by a falling stone loosened by the quakes, local police officer in the district Surya Thapa said. Three more women also sustained injuries.

“We have rushed a team of police personnel to the incident site located in the remote village,” Thapa told India Narrative over the phone, adding that a rescue operation is currently underway. He said that the number of casualties may go up.

The earthquake destroyed several houses in Bajura district, according to Lokendra Bahadur Bista, a senior official in the district.

“We are now gathering details about the damages caused by the earthquake,” he told India Narrative on Tuesday evening.

According to Nepal’s National Earthquake Research and Monitoring Center, the earthquake, with an epicenter at Mela in Bajura was recorded at 14:43 pm.

Nepal is prone to earthquakes. In November last year, a powerful earthquake killed six people, leaving five injured in Nepal’s Doti district.

After 7.8-magnitude earthquakes, Nepal has been witnessing earthquakes and aftershocks frequently.

The country is highly vulnerable to earthquakes where tectonic plates of India and Eurasia collide, creating the Himalayas and the Tibetan plateau.

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