At least 34 people were killed and many others injured in India due to a massive earthquake that rocked Nepal and its neighbouring areas on Saturday afternoon, the home ministry said.
"As per the latest information, 34 deaths have been confirmed so far, with 23 deaths in Bihar, eight in Uttar Pradesh and three in West Bengal," Home Secretary L.C. Goyal told reporters at a press conference.
In order to deal with the situation in the affected states, five teams of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) have already been sent -- one to Gorakhpur in Uttar Pradesh and one each to Darbhanga, Supaul, Motihari and Gopalganj in Bihar.
The team also includes medical and paramedic personnel. The teams have equipment such as live detector machines and cutters which can cut steel, concrete and wood.
He said the National Crisis Management Committee (NCMC) in the cabinet secretariat has already met and reviewed the situation through video-conferencing with the chief secretaries of the affected states.
The NCMC will be meeting regularly to take stock of the situation and the relief measures. The central government was also in constant touch with the states and monitoring the situation very closely.
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"We have been in constant touch with all the affected states... rescue teams have been sent to the affected areas," he said, adding that "at the moment rescue is the priority".
"The NCMC will again meet soon after this press conference to review the situation," Goyal said.
Talking about Nepal, the home secretary said "all possible help" would be given to the Himalayan country.
Giving details of the quake, L.S. Rathore, director general of the India Meteorological Department (IMD), said that after the earthquake, several aftershocks were felt in India too.
"These were aftershocks measuring five and above on the Richter scale," he said, adding that the highest intensity aftershock measured 6.6.