New Delhi: More than 1,300 people have died in a massive earthquake of 7.9 magnitude on the Richter scale which hit large parts of Nepal on Saturday, news agency Reuters said quoting the police.

Major tremors were felt for nearly a minute across large swathes of Northern India including Delhi.

More than 40 people have died in India, 32 in Bihar, eight in Uttar Pradesh, and three in West Bengal, where 40 children have also been injured after their school was damaged in Malda town.

The epicenter of the worst quake to hit Nepal in 80 years was some 80 km southwest of Kathmandu, Nepal capital.

The Times of India quoting Reuters said the death toll in Nepal touched 750 by 7 pm. At least 25 people have died in Bihar, eight in Uttar Pradesh, and three in West Bengal, where 40 children have also been injured after their school was damaged in Malda town.

Kathmandu has been left devastated with roads split open, and homes and iconic landmarks reduced to rubble. As little information was coming from the outlying areas of the mountainous country, the authorities sent helicopters to get a sense of the damage.

Old walls of Indian Embassy in Nepal also collapsed in the quake.

The region experienced at least 15 aftershocks within 2.5 hours of the quake that struck at 11:47 am.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi convened a high-level meeting in Delhi with ministers and top officials to assess the situation. He has appointed Minister Rajiv Pratap Rudy to handle the aftermath in the states bordering Nepal.

Earlier, Modi has spoken to his Nepal counterpart Sushil Koirala, who was rushing to Kathmandu from Bangkok, and assured him all support and assistance during this tough time.

India has sent already two Air Force planes carrying 4 tons of relief material to Nepal.

Roof of Kamakhya temple in Ayodhya, Uttar Pradesh, collapsed.

Authorities have closed Kathmandu airport after the quake.

The quake was shallow, usually more dangerous because the amount of energy released is focused over a smaller area.

At the main hospital in Kathmandu, people with broken limbs and arms were being rushed in for treatment. It was unclear how many people were injured.

The historic Dharara Tower built in the 19th century in Kathmandu collapsed, trapping at least 50 people, Nepal media reported. The tower had been open to visitors for the last 10 years and had a viewing balcony on its eighth floor. Witnesses spoke of dead bodies being removed from the site.

Photographs from Kathmandu posted online showed buildings left in rubble, large cracks along roads and residents sitting in the street holding babies.

People ran out of their houses and offices in Delhi and other places in northern India.

Tremors were also felt in Ranchi, Jaipur, Guwahati and parts of Uttar Pradesh.

Uday Narain Choudhary (courtesy Edwin Molomo)

In Patna, Assembly Speaker Uday Narayan Choudhary was the chief guest at on a program at Tarumitra (friends of trees) when the quake hit. Jesuit Father Joseph Parekkattil, who was at the program, said the speaker and others came out of the hall. Later, he “looked as cool as ever” and addressed children of Musahar community on “Hamari Patsala’ (our school) organized by Caritas India and Millennium Alliance.

In Kolkata, Jesuit Father P J Joseph said he initially thought his head was spinning. “But when I saw many coming out of their room, I knew it was a tremor.”

Salesian Father C.M. Paul in Guwahati said the earthquake made students of Master of Social Works in Assam Don Bosco University to rush out of their classroom. “They were all out in the basketball and volleyball courts shouting and screaming,” the priest posted on his Facebook wall.

Most villages around the Nepal capital of Kathmadu with a couple of residents have been almost completely devastated. Many people were in their farms or in the open air at the time of the quake.

Nepal’s Lamjung, the epicenter of the quake, has reportedly flattened and only few buildings there are reportedly standing. A Chinese tourist is reported dead at Nepal’s Pohara town.