At least 22 people were killed and dozens injured after a powerful 6.4-magnitude earthquake struck western Nepal’s Jajarkot and West Rukum districts earlier today, local officials said. Eyewitnesses said that houses in the area collapsed.

The German Research Center for Geosciences (GFZ) initially reported the magnitude of the earthquake as 6.2.

A local official, Harris Chandra Sharma, said authorities had been unable to contact the authorities in the epicenter of the quake, Jajarkot. There are reports of 17 dead in this area.

Another official, Suresh Sunar, told Reuters that 20 people were taken to hospitals with injuries. “I’m out in the country too. We are collecting information but because it is night and it is cold it is difficult to communicate with the remote areas,” he explained.

The National Seismological Center of Nepal announced that the earthquake occurred at 23:47 local time, in Jajarkot district of Karnali province. Jajarkot is about 500 km from the capital Kathmandu.

“We have confirmed reports that five members of a family were killed in Aathbiskot village. There is also information about other victims. We cannot confirm them,” said a police officer from neighboring West Rukum district.

Footage broadcast by local media shows collapsed facades of high-rise buildings.

“Houses collapsed. People ran out. I am outside, among the crowd of terrified residents. We are trying to gather information about the damage,” a police officer, Santos Roca, told Reuters by phone.