New Nepal quake cuts off China-Nepal highway

BEIJING: Chinese authorities are trying to reopen a section of China-Nepal highway which was blocked by 40,000 cubic meters of debris in the latest 7.3-magnitude temblor that struck Nepal.

Over 120 police officers together with 18 excavators are cleaning the debris on the 13-km section between Zham Township and Zham Port in Tibet, as the segment has caved in at nine points, Liu Guorong, head of the operation, was quoted as saying by state-run Xinhua news agency.

Early this morning, Chinese reporters saw rocks falling from the mountain along the blocked road due to aftershocks, the report said.

The fresh earthquake has killed 65 people in Nepal and one person in Tibet.

Another section of the China-Nepal highway between Zham Port and Kathmandu, the Nepalese capital, was cut off by the 7.9-magnitude quake that jolted Nepal on April 25.

Two weeks later, Chinese armed police helped reopen it. The previous temblor had claimed over 8,000 lives in Nepal and left 26 dead in southwest China's Tibet.