(LANKAPUVATH | COLOMBO) – The Sri Lankans living in Nepal are situated at a safe distance from the epicenter of the earthquake which struck western Nepal on Friday (Nov. 03), the Sri Lankan Embassy in Kathmandu said in a statement.
The embassy, noting that there are approximately 100 Sri Lankans currently residing in Nepal, mentioned that around 40 of them are students in Pokhara, while another 10 are students in Kathmandu. The remaining 30 to 40 individuals are professionals and their family members who work in international organisations and private entities in Kathmandu, it added.
Furthermore, the statement pointed out that every year, a number of Sri Lankan pilgrims visit Lumbini via India, with an estimated range of 50000 to 600,00. These pilgrims usually spend a short period of time in Lumbini.
However, the Sri Lankan Embassy mentioned that no foreign nationals were reported dead or injured during the earthquake.
At least 150 people were reported dead and dozens injured in Nepal when a strong earthquake struck the western area of Jajarkot, officials said on Saturday, as houses in the area collapsed and buildings as far as New Delhi in neighbouring India shook.
The quake is the deadliest since 2015 when about 9,000 people were killed in two earthquakes in the Himalayan country. Whole towns, centuries-old temples and other historic sites were reduced to rubble then, with more than a million houses destroyed, at a cost to the economy of $6 billion.
Officials feared the death toll in Friday’s quake could rise as they had not been able to establish contact in the hilly area near the epicentre, some 500 km (300 miles) west of the capital Kathmandu, where tremors were also felt. The district has a population of 190,000 with villages scattered in remote hills.
