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A powerful earthquake rocked Nepal Tuesday killing at least 36 people and injuring 1,100 on Tuesday, according to the Home Ministry. Buildings that were already weakened by the devastating quake less than three weeks ago collapsed.

The toll included five people who died in Sindhupalchowk, the district to the east of Kathmandu that reported the most deaths in the April 25 shaker, district administrator Krishna Gwayali said. He said the deaths were on a highway towards Tibet.

Six more were killed in Dolakha district close to the epicentre, an eyewitness said, adding that rescuers were trying to reach three people trapped in a house. In Kathmandu three people died, a police official said. In India, at least five people were killed when buildings collapsed. One man was killed by falling rocks in Tibet.

Nepal hit by second huge earthquake

Earthquake with 7.4 magnitude strikes country still recovering from devastating quake that killed more than 8,000 people just weeks ago

Nepal has been hit by another strong earthquake, sending people in the capital Kathmandu rushing out on to the streets just weeks after a devastating quake killed more than 8,000 people and destroyed hundreds of thousands of homes.

The US Geological Survey initially said the quake had a magnitude of 7.1 and struck 42 miles (68km) west of the town of Namche Bazaar, close to Mount Everest. The quake was upgraded to a magnitude of 7.4 minutes later. Shockwaves were felt as far away as the Indian capital, Delhi.

“This is a really big one,” said Prakash Shilpakar, the owner of a shop in Kathmandu who was trying to call his parents in Bhaktapur, a town devastated in the 25 April quake.

Shockwaves were felt across northern India and as far away as Delhi, where buildings swayed for more than a minute and people scurried into the streets.

People in Kathmandu rushed outdoors, Reuters reporters said. There were no immediate reports of damage to buildings. Shopkeepers closed their stores.

The quake’s epicentre was close to Everest base camp, which was evacuated after an avalanche triggered by the 25 April quake killed 18 climbers. Mountaineers seeking to scale the world’s tallest peak have called off this year’s Everest season.

Police and army personnel work together to clear the debris of the Jaisidewal temple in Kathmandu that was ruined in the first quake. Photograph: Xinhua /Landov / Barcroft Media/Xinhua /Landov / Barcroft Media

A major earthquake has struck eastern Nepal, two weeks after a devastating quake killed more than 8,000 people.