Moderate earthquake strikes Nepal

The moderate intensity quake hit at 5:20 am local time, Nepal's National Seismological Centre said. Its epicentre was near Mount Everest, about 150 kilometres north-east of Kathmandu.

The Centre said it was an aftershock of last year's devastating earthquake which killed 9000 people and injured 22,000.

People in Kathmandu felt the quake, but there were no immediate reports of damage or casualties.

People rushed out of their homes in the region close to the epicentre, but there were no immediate reports of damage there either, according to Nagarik, a Nepali-language newspaper.