Death toll in Sikkim quake rises to 98

The death toll from the 6.8 magnitude quake that hit the India-Nepal border has risen to 98, officials said today, warning that more bodies were likely to be found in the coming days.

The death toll from the 6.8 magnitude quake that hit the India-Nepal border has risen to 98, officials said on Wednesday, warning that more bodies were likely to be found in the coming days.

At least 65 people were killed in Sikkim in Sunday's quake, state official Sonam Lepcha told AFP in Gangtok, where fatalities were being brought in from outlying areas.

"Bodies are being airlifted by various agencies and are being brought to the various district hospitals," she said. "We fear that more lives have been lost, but it is very difficult to give an exact count."

Police said 18 people were killed elsewhere in India, while eight people died in Nepal, and China's official Xinhua news agency reported seven dead in southern Tibet.

Tremors were felt more than 1,000 kilometres (600 miles) away in New Delhi to the west, and in Bangladesh to the south.

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