New Delhi, Nov 4 (IANS): Condoling the death of people due to the severe earthquake in Nepal, Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge on Saturday said that India stands shoulder to shoulder with Nepal in this hour of crisis.

In a post on X, Kharge said, “Anguished by the loss of precious lives due to the devastating earthquake in Nepal. Our deepest condolences, thoughts and sympathies are with the families of the victims and the injured.”

“In this hour of crisis, Indians stand shoulder to shoulder with Nepal,” the Congress leader added.

His remarks came as the death toll from a strong 6.4-magnitude earthquake in Nepal has risen to 128 while the rescue operation is going on, government officials said on Saturday.

The quake hit Jajarkot and Rukum West districts at 11:47 p.m. on Friday night, which also injured 140 others, Nepal Police spokesman Kuber Kadayat told Xinhua news agency.

It is difficult for the rescue teams to reach some places as bridges were damaged, and roads were blocked by landslides triggered by the quake, he said.

The depth of the earthquake is between 10 to 15 km, and an additional four aftershocks above magnitude 4.0 have been recorded by Saturday morning, according to Lok Bijay Adhikari from Nepal's National Earthquake Monitoring and Research Centre.

"The aftershocks continue," he added.