A UNESCO World Heritage Site in Nepal's capital city has been completely destroyed following a magnitude 7.8 earthquake that hit the country early Saturday morning, killing more than 1,300 people and leveling buildings throughout the country.
Darbar Square, #Nepal's Pride & UNESCO designated World Heritage Site destroyed by #NepalEarthquake#PrayForNepalpic.twitter.com/IR8sYIX14v
— JigmeUgen (@JigmeUgen) April 25, 2015The massive earthquake reduced the historic Durbar Square to rubble, leaving what was once "Nepal's Pride" and a UNESCO designated World Heritage Site in utter ruin.
A traveler in Katmandu posted this image of Durbar Square to his Instagram account following the quake:
Emergency workers are still scrambling to rescue people trapped under the debris.
ABC News Australia reporter Siobhan Heanue captured a particularly dramatic scene at Durbar Square hours after the quake hit:
I took these photos an hour apart. Was wandering when quake demolished temples before my eyes. Heartbreaking. pic.twitter.com/RYtIZI4725
— Siobhan Heanue (@siobhanheanue) April 25, 2015A historic tower built in the 19th century in Kathmandu also collapsed, trapping at least 50 people, Nepal media reported. The Dharara Tower, built in 1832, had been open to visitors for the last 10 years and had a viewing balcony on its eighth floor.
The Nepalese city of Kathmandu, the epicenter of the quake, is home to ancient, wooden Hindu temples. Photographs posted online showed buildings left in rubble, large cracks along roads, and residents sitting in the street holding babies.
Vasanthapura Square, a Kathmandu neighborhood with temples that were built in the 11th century, suffered severe damage as well.
“Oh my God, the entire Vasanthapura is in rubble,” Kashish Das Shrestha, a photographer, told The New York Times.
The US will send a disaster response team and an initial $1 million in aid to Nepal, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) said in a tweet.
