A powerful earthquake measuring 7.1 on the Richter scale struck Nepal early Tuesday morning, with its epicentre located 93 kilometres northeast of Lobuche. The tremor, recorded at 6:35 am IST, was also felt across Bihar and parts of North India,

The most powerful of these, measuring 7.1 in magnitude, was the strongest in this region since the devastating April 2015 earthquake in Nepal that had killed about 10,000 people.

The epicentre was around 80 km north of Mount Everest, the world's highest mountain and a popular destination for climbers and trekkers.

Rescue teams were working on Tuesday (January 7) to reach nine men trapped in a flooded coal mine in the remote district of Dima Hasao in Assam, India. Authorities said at least three miners were feared dead.

In response to a tragic incident at a coal mine in the remote “3 Kilo” area of the Dima Hasao region, close to the Assam-Meghalaya border, the Indian Army and NDRF have launched a swift Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR) mission to aid in rescue operations.