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The magnitude-7.8 quake toppled temples and was followed an hour later by a magnitude-6.6 aftershock. Smaller aftershocks followed for several hours.

Noah O'Brien, from Ohio, was about 20 miles east of Kathmandu when the quake hit, according to ABC affiliate WCPO-TV in Cincinatti.

His mother, Nancy Simpson, told WCPO her son called and said, \"Mom, mom -- oh my god, things are falling down. Things are crashing,\"

According to WCPO, O'Brien told his mother he \"was seconds away from death.\"

The quake hit about 50 miles northwest of Kathmandu just before noon local time Saturday, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.

At least 2,100 people have been killed in Nepal, the country's Interior Ministry told ABC News on Sunday. The State Department has confirmed three U.S. fatalities.

More than 1,000 others were injured, said the country's finance minister, Ram Sharan Mahat.

At least 51 were also killed in India, 17 in Tibet, two in Bangladesh and two Chinese citizens died at the Nepal-China border.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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