Rescuers search for victims of Himalaya quake, at least 18 killed

New Delhi - Rescue operations were underway in north-eastern India and neighbouring countries Monday after a 6.8-magnitude earthquake struck the Himalayas, killing 18 people and injuring more than 150.

The epicentre of Sunday's quake was 68 kilometres north-west of Gangtok, the capital of the Indian state of Sikkim.

Thirteen people were killed in India and five in Nepal, local media reported quoting government officials.

Scores of people were injured, mostly by falling debris as walls and roofs of buildings collapsed, officials said.

Rescue efforts were being hampered by rain and landslides. Some remote villages remained cut off and the death toll was expected to rise as several people were feared to be trapped in debris.

Two dozen foreign tourists and 315 villagers were rescued, Ranjit Sinha, chief of Indo-Tibetan Border Police, said.

The rescue operations, involving 4,000 army soldiers, were being hampered by intermittent rainfall, landslides and power outages.

The main highway connecting Sikkim with other Indian states was blocked in two dozen places by landslides.

The quake was felt as far away as the Indian capital New Delhi, 1,500 kilometres from Sikkim, as well as areas in Tibet.

Strong tremors were also felt in Bangladesh. Thousands of people ran out of their houses in densely populated Dhaka as the ground shook.

It was the second earthquake to hit north-east India this month.//DPA