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More than 100 people have been killed after an earthquake hit northwestern China while many people were asleep, Aljazeera reported.

The earthquake, measured at 6.2 according to state news agency Xinhua, struck at about midnight in Gansu Province near the border with Qinghai, causing significant damage, state media reported on Tuesday.

The tremor was felt as far away as Xi’an in northern Shaanxi province, about 570 kilometres (350 miles) from the epicentre.

Gansu provincial authorities told a press conference that as of 7.50am (23:50 GMT on Monday), 105 people had been confirmed dead, and 397 injured. More than 4,700 houses had been damaged, they added. Power and water supplies were disrupted in some villages, Xinhua said.

According to CCTV, at least 11 people were also killed in the city of Haidong in Qinghai. Haidong is situated close to the epicentre about 100km (60 miles) southwest of Gansu Province’s capital, Lanzhou.

People living close to the epicentre rushed out onto the street as they felt the earthquake. Some buildings collapsed.

“I live on the 16th floor and felt the tremors so strongly,” a man named Qin was quoted as saying in the state-run Global Times. “The moment of the earthquake was feeling like being tossed up after surging waves… I woke my family up and we rushed down all 16 floors in one breath.

Qin added that it was minus 12 degrees Celsius (10.4 Fahrenheit), and that while some of his neighbours had put on down jackets or wrapped themselves in blankets others were bare-chested, according to Aljazeera.

Rescue work was under way with Chinese President Xi Jinping calling for “all-out efforts” in the search and relief work. Nearly 1,500 firefighters were deployed with another 1,500 on stand-by, according to state media. More than 300 officers and soldiers were also mobilised for disaster relief.

Supplies including drinking water, blankets, stoves and instant noodles were also being sent to the affected area.

Footage on state television showed emergency vehicles driving along snow-lined highways, and rescue workers pictured shoulder-to-shoulder in the trucks.

The US Geological Survey reported the quake was a magnitude 5.9, while the European Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC) said it was a magnitude 6.1.

The earthquake struck at a depth of 10km (6 miles) at 11:59 pm local time on Monday (15:59 GMT), according to the USGS, which initially reported the magnitude at 6.0. Multiple aftershocks were reported.

Gansu has a population of about 26 million people and includes part of the Gobi Desert.

Earthquakes are not uncommon in China.

In September 2022, a 6.6-magnitude quake hit Sichuan Province leaving almost 100 dead.

A 7.9-magnitude quake in Sichuan in 2008 left more than 87,000 people dead or missing, including 5,335 children who were in school at the time it happened.

At least 242,000 people were killed in 1976 after an earthquake struck Tangshan in the worst natural disaster in Chinese history.

In 2006, Radha Shrestha and her mother suffered severe third-degree burns when a gas cylinder exploded in their one-bedroom home. Their treatment began only on the third day when they were shifted to Sushma Koirala Memorial Hospital (SKMH) in Sankhu. Shrestha’s mother passed away and she was discharged after 39 days. 

Doctors attending to them said her mother’s death could have been prevented had she received immediate medical attention. Nearly two decades on, the situation remains much the same. Most hospitals in Nepal are still ill-equipped to handle burn cases, causing inevitable delays in case of emergencies. 

Dr Binod Karn, associate professor of plastic surgery at Nepalgunj Medical College, says the government hasn’t given much attention to burn care. A few NGOs and INGOs conduct awareness and training programs and give medical assistance, and that’s about it. 

Burns are the second most common injuries in Nepal. They are the most debilitating too. Treatment often lasts years, with victims requiring multiple surgeries. There are roughly 50,000 injuries and 21,000 deaths due to burns every year. Nepal is ranked number one in the list of countries with the highest rate of mortality by fire-related accidents.

Burn cases are mostly accidental and sometimes even homicidal and suicidal. In winter, most burn cases are 50-plus women who sit with their backs to the fire to keep themselves warm. In summer, electrical burns among metal workers are the most frequent cases. Suicidal and homicidal cases in Nepal are frequently related to dowry. Sometimes, women, frustrated by nagging and abuse, set themselves alight but usually, it’s the in-laws who burn them.

Most burn cases are referred to Kathmandu. Dr Karn says Nepalgunj Medical College can handle cases with 20 percent burn. Anything above that is either referred to Kirtipur Hospital or SKMH in the capital city. Many patients can’t afford the transport cost. Treatment is expensive. The survival rate, he says, is also low. A patient with a 20 to 30 percent burn has only a 20 to 30 percent chance of survival. 

“Burn treatment is complex and most hospitals aren’t equipped for it,” says Dr Karn. There should be a separate hospital or at least a dedicated burn unit in each hospital. The medical staff also needs burn-focused training. He says every province should have at least one proper burn unit or hospital. “We can save many lives if there were at least three burn units in Nepal to begin with—one for provinces one and two; one for three and four; and one for provinces five, six, and seven,” he says. 

Dr Santosh Bikram Bhandari, a burn, plastic, reconstructive, and cosmetic surgeon at SKMH, says the hospital handles over 100 burn cases every month. Though it has a separate burn ward and the government provides an allowance for free burn treatment, they are not enough to cater to all the needs of burn patients. 

Experts say most burn cases emanate from the lower socio-economic strata. The families from these strata cannot afford expensive surgeries that follow an incident. There have been cases of families taking loans or selling their meager assets to fund treatment—driving them deeper into poverty.  

Dr Bhandari says there is a lack of awareness on the management of burn injuries among the public as well as medical personnel. Poverty, he says, is the biggest strain. Many people simply don’t have access to alternatives to firewood. Saris catching fire while cooking is a common occurrence in rural areas. 

“Lack of knowledge on fire safety as well as first aid is appalling. People have wrong concepts about what to do after a burn injury and that often makes it worse,” says Dr Bhandari. 

The government remains oblivious to the sufferings of burn victims. After Nepali Congress leader Chandra Bhandari and his mother were injured in a gas cylinder explosion, burns became a much-discussed topic at ministerial meetings, says Dr Bhandari, with the authorities promising to give everything needed to establish a state-of-the-art burn care unit at SKMH. But the talks, he adds, soon fizzled out and nothing happened. 

Dr Prakash Budathoki, spokesperson for the Ministry of Health and Population, says the government’s priority is communicable diseases and other ailments that regularly claim more lives. But burn cases are also on their radar. They have separated a budget for the burn ward at Bir Hospital. The ministry is also working on a plan to run awareness programs and training in all seven provinces.

Dr Bhandari, however, insists that the government isn’t serious about burns. Despite repeated lobbying for better policies to ease the load of burn treatment, the government has done little. “It’s not difficult to have a separate burn treatment fund if the government is willing,” he says. 

Burns, in Nepal, are usually the result of gas explosions, petroleum-related incidents, and electrical malfunctions or accidents. The government can bring a policy where one rupee extra is charged per cylinder and fuel refill, and 0.1 percent of the total electrical bill is levied on each customer—and all of it goes to building a national burn treatment fund. “The government can easily make burn treatment accessible and save lives if it wants to,” says Dr Bhandari. 

Archana Ranjit, a nursing officer at Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital, has years of experience working with burn patients. She agrees with Dr Bhandari and says government involvement is crucial in tackling burn cases as they require extensive care and facilities. “When patients are forced to move from one hospital to the next due to the lack of all necessary facilities under one roof, there is a delay in treatment, which is sometimes fatal. In the case of burn injuries, the earlier the victim gets treated, the better the chances of survival and healing after surgery,” says Ranjit. 

The 49th Convocation Ceremony of Tribhuvan University was held today at Dashrath Stadium on Monday.

A total of 12,415 graduates from various disciplines took part in the event held in the presence of President Ram Chandra Paudel and Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal.

Though a total of 74,749 graduates (Bachelor's, Master's, MPhil and PhD degrees) were in the TU's grace list for the participations in the Convocation, a total of 12,415:  8,098 towards the Bachelor's degree, 4,104 towards the Master's degree, 44  towards MPhil and 112 under the PhD  applied for it.

Speaking on the occasion, TU Acting Vice Chancellor Prof Dr Shivalal Bhusal said that TU graduates under various levels from different faculties, who were passed out from mid-June 2022 to mid-May, 2023 were eligible for taking part in the 49th Convocation.

The previous Convocation witnessed the participation of 10,300 students.

Citing challenges to encourage TU graduates to seek careers within the country, he pledged to promote entrepreneurship from the academic intervention.

Project Sarangi Foundation, in collaboration with Surya Nepal’s Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiative, announced the completion of a project dedicated to preserving and promoting the rich cultural heritage of the traditional folk instrument ‘Sarangi’. This initiative, deeply rooted in Nepali culture, aims to ensure the continued flourishing of the local traditional sarangi for generations to come. 

The project spanned seven schools in seven municipalities of Kathmandu, offering a comprehensive experience that included a free 3-month sarangi training program for aspiring musicians and engaging workshops, evoking a sense of pride and responsibility among new generations in safeguarding their rich cultural legacy. 

“We are proud to witness the culmination of this initiative, symbolizing a renewed commitment to empowering the new generation to carry Nepal's musical heritage forward,” said Kiran Nepali, director at Project Sarangi Foundation.