Karnali Province
Death toll in Jajarkot earthquake revised to 153
Earlier, the number of deceased was reported to be 157 with 105 deaths in Jajarkot and 52 fatalities in adjoining Rukum West.Ghan Shyam Gautam
The death toll from the magnitude 6.4 earthquake that rocked western Nepal has been revised to 153 from 157 citing duplication of some names.
Earlier, 105 deaths were reported in Jajarkot, the quake’s epicentre, and 52 fatalities in the adjoining Rukum West district.
Authorities have now adjusted the death toll in Jajarkot to 101. The death toll in Rukum West, however, is unchanged.
Jajarkot Chief District Office Suresh Sunar said the names of three deceased in Nalgad Municipality of Jajarkot were duplicated as their addresses and place of death were different and another repetition occurred as a victim had two names, he said.
Earlier, the Nalgad Municipality had reported 55 deaths in the municipality. Sunar said the number of deaths in the municipality has now changed to 51.
“We had put the death toll to 157 as per the preliminary reports. It has been revised to 153 after verifying from all sides,” he said.
In Jajarkot, a total of 42 people died in Bheri Municipality, 51 in Nalgad Municipality, seven in Kushe Rural Municipality and one in Chhedagad Municipality.
Meanwhile, officials said among those killed in the quake were one teacher and 11 students. Tilak Prasad Bhattarai, information officer of the District Education Development Coordination Unit, said two teachers and 20 students were injured as per the preliminary information.
The jolt damaged 213 school buildings in Jajarkot. As per reports till Sunday evening, 91 schools were fully damaged and 122 suffered partial damage.
According to Bhattarai, 366 classrooms are in ruins while 476 rooms have been partially damaged. The quake fully damaged 43 toilets, 11 ICT labs, one library, the boundary walls of seven schools and the solar systems of four schools.
Similarly, 35 toilets have suffered partial damage and the details of the destruction are still being collected, the education unit office said.