Landmark Tower Again Left in Ruins
Kathmandhu: The white minaretlike Dharahara, or Bhimsen tower, that stood over the royal enclosure of Durbar Square, a Unesco World Heritage site in the heart of the Nepalese capital Katmandu, was severely damaged in an earlier earthquake in 1934.
Yesterday it was reduced again to rubble. Rescue workers were trying last night to reach up to 50 people buried under the debris, Kanipur television reported.
The tower along with several other temples, palaces and large parts of Kathmandu, as well as royal enclosures in nearby Bhaktapur and Patan, were damaged by the 1934 magnitude - 8 earthquake.
There is a small Shiva shrine that locals and tourists visit at the top of the 62- metre tower, which offers panoramic views of the city. Nepal Lonely Planet auther Sujoy Das said.
The tower was built in 1826 by a prime minister of the Rana dynasty for the then queen as past of the royal palace.
The original structure was 12 storeys, but it had only nine after the 1934 earthquake.