Nepal quake: Malaysian embassy staff in Kathmandu safe

Counsellor/Charge d'Affaires Fadli Adilah, when contacted, confirmed that the earthquake occurred at 12.40pm (2.55 pm in Malaysia) and two aftershocks followed within 30 minutes.

All the staff, including Fadli, were on the second floor of the five-storey building at the Karmachari Sanchaya Kosh Bhawan when the earthquake struck.

Fadli told Bernama that the staff had been working from 10am to 3pm from Monday to clear outstanding visa and work permit applications received prior to the first earthquake on April 25.

"Since no fresh tremors were reported in Kathmandu over the past two days, we decided to operate the embassy, though for shorter hours," said Fadli, who confirmed that since the first earthquake, a total of 130 mild and major aftershocks had been reported in Kathmandu.

Fadli said today's trembler lasted about 30 seconds, forcing the staff, including himself, to rush to an open area.

"We will be closing our embassy up to Thursday to enable local authorities to inspect the building before deciding to reopen it," he said.

During the first earthquake, cracks appeared on several pillars and partitions of the building.

Fadli also said that the embassy had not received any report so far of Malaysians having been stranded or injured following Tuesday's quake.

A 7.8-magnitude earthquake struck Nepal on April 25, killing 8,046 people and injuring more than 17,800.