A strong earthquake shook northeastern India and Nepal on Sunday evening (18th September 2011), triggering landslides, wrecking buildings and sending people fleeing into the streets of Katmandu, the Nepalese capital, and other cities. Initial reports indicated that at least 16 people were killed, including 3 outside the British Embassy in Katmandu, where a wall collapsed.

The earthquake, measured initially at a magnitude of 6.9, struck at 6:10 p.m. in a remote part of the Himalayas at the eastern end of Nepal. It was felt across northern and eastern India, including in New Delhi, the capital, more than 700 miles to the west.

In Sikkim, the Indian state nearest the epicenter, at least five people died and more than 50 were injured, said Karma Gyatso, the state’s chief secretary. Four more deaths were reported in neighboring West Bengal State and two in Bihar State, with one of the victims killed in what apparently was a stampede of panicked people. In Nepal, the government reported at least five deaths in all, along with dozens of injuries. -nytimes-