New Delhi, April 25 (IANS): Sports minister Sarbananda Sonowal on Saturday directed the Nehru Yuva Kendra Sangathan (NYKS) and the National Service Scheme (NSS) to depute their volunteers in the quake hit areas of the country for relief and rescue work, a central government release said.

At least 155 people were killed and many were left bloodied when a massive earthquake shook Nepal and India on Friday, causing widespread devastation.

Over 150 were killed in the devastation in the Himalayan country, according to Nepal's ministry of home affairs, while six people died in India.

Reports from across north India said people ran out of their homes and offices even as buildings shook due to the quake and the strong aftershocks.

The earthquake measured a staggering 7.9 on the Richter scale, with its epicentre at Nepal's Lamjung district some 75 kilometre northwest of capital Kathmandu. There were six strong aftershocks.

Sonowal expressed grief over the loss of lives and property in earthquake hit areas of Nepal and India.

"The volunteers of these two organisations will be helpful in relief camps as they work at the grassroots level," he said in a release.