A major earthquake occurred in Nepal on 12 May 2015 at 12:50 pm local time (07:05 UTC) with a moment magnitude of 7.3, 18 kilometres (11 mi) southeast of Kodari.

Shaking was felt in northern parts of India including Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal.

[9] The impact of these tremors was felt even 1,000 kilometres away in the Indian capital New Delhi, where buildings shook and office workers evacuated.

Within hours of the quake, tents began to fill open areas of the city as residents were afraid to go back inside.

[12] In India, Delhi Metro service was briefly interrupted as people fled their homes and places of employment.

[12] A US military helicopter, UH-1 Huey, carrying six US Marines and two Nepalese soldiers, went missing when on a disaster relief operation in central Nepal.

[14] On 16 May, when a total of eight bodies were recovered, the Pentagon spokesman Steve Warren said that although the cause of the crash was not yet known, a nearby Indian helicopter had heard radio chatter about a possible fuel problem.