Kathmandu: An avalanche triggered by a deadly earthquake in Nepal on Saturday buried a part of the base camp for climbers bound for Mount Everest, killing 18 people so far, Nepal's tourism ministry said.

‘The toll could go up, it may include foreigners as well as sherpas,’ tourism official Gyanendra Shrestha said. 

 At least 114 people are so far known to have died in a massive earthquake which hit large parts of Nepal on Saturday, the government said.

‘In Kathmandu 71 have been reported dead so far,’ home ministry spokesman Laxmi Prasad Dhakal told AFP.

Another 43 had been reported dead in the nearby Bhaktapur district, he added.

A 7.9 magnitude earthquake caused large-scale casualties in Nepal on Saturday, with possibly hundreds of people killed, one of the Himalayan nation's diplomats said.