Memorial service marks 10th anniversary of Nepal quake

Nepal marked the 10th anniversary of the devastating 2015 earthquake on Friday with a memorial service attended by top officials who pledged to be better prepared to face future disasters.

- 

At exactly 11:56am, which was the time of the earthquake on April 25, 2015, Prime Minister Khadga Prasad Oli, top ministers, officials and diplomats stood up and held a minute of silence in memory of those killed at the site of a tower that collapsed and crushed 180 people.

The magnitude 7.8 earthquake killed early 9,000 people, wounded more than 22,000 and damaged some I million houses and buildings.

“There was a huge loss of both lives and property then but were able to successfully recover and reconstruct.” Oli said. “Nepal has shown resilience.”

Oli was joined by ministers and diplomats from countries helped Nepal with rescue, recovery and later reconstruction efforts to light candles in memory of the lives that were lost in the disaster.

“We could not have done all that just by ourselves,” Oli said.

“We want to thank all our partner nations and agencies for their support.”