New Delhi ( CNN ) -- At least 18 people -- 13 in India and five in Nepal -- died when a magnitude-6.9 earthquake struck the northern Indian state of Sikkim near the border between the two nations Sunday night , local government officials told sister network CNN-IBN . The dead include three in Nepal 's capital of Kathmandu , who died when a wall of the British embassy collapsed , according to Kedar Rijal , Kathmandu police chief . They included an 8-year-old girl , her father and a third person . The British Foreign Office confirmed a `` compound perimeter wall '' of the embassy collapsed , adding that its ambassador has met with the community and offered condolences . Police said in a statement that two more people died in the Nepalese town of Dhara , about 217 miles east of Kathmandu . About a dozen people were injured when they jumped from their houses during the quake , police said . On Monday morning , Sikkim 's chief secretary Karma Gyatso said that seven people had died in that province , 65 suffered trauma and 33 had minor injuries . Officials in other local governments reported additional fatalities in their provinces , significantly increasing the overall death toll from Sunday . The network said the dead include at least two Indian army personnel . At least two buildings in Sikkim had collapsed and others developed cracks , Gyatso said Sunday . The damage was still being assessed as first-responders and others worked to find and help survivors , he said . A day later , the Sikkim provincial official said that conditions had taken a positive turn . Communications to stricken areas are `` much better '' now , '' said Gyatso , adding cell phone connections have also improved . He added that rescuers have reached most of the hardest-hit areas , with more emergency crews set to be deployed over the course of the day Monday . Already , 300 civilians had been rescued in one such effort near Sikkim 's border with China , said Indo-Tibetan Border Police spokesman Deepak Kumar Pandey . Some 22 tourists -- all of them Indians -- were also rescued in the same area . The deaths , damage and recovery efforts came after a total of three quakes struck the region in rapid succession in a mountainous region . The U.S. Geological Survey initially put the largest quake at 6.8 magnitude , later upgrading it to a 6.9 , and the other two at magnitudes 4.8 and 4.6 . All three occurred within an hour and 15 minutes , the U.S. agency said . The India Meteorological Department said the quakes were 6.8 magnitude , 5.7 magnitude and 5.3 magnitude . The quakes set off landslides , which -- along with heavy rains -- were blocking roads and hampering rescue efforts , Pandey said . He expressed fears that the toll , as far as deaths and damage , could be more than is now known , anticipating more will be known once the sun rises Monday . Already , authorities have reported power outages and downed phone lines in Sikkim . Emergency crews were dispatched from different locations to the region , India 's home ministry said in an alert to reporters . At least four fighter jets were carrying rescue officers to a neighboring region , where they travel by road to Gangtok , Sikkim 's capital , according to the alert . As for outside help , World Vision announced Sunday that it `` has put its emergency response team in India on standby '' to provide relief as requested . The nonprofit organization reported that the quake cut off phone communication and electricity in parts of Sikkim and West Bengal provinces . `` The whole earth was shaking and it lasted for two minutes , '' Paul Mathai from World Vision , who was 130 kilometers ( 80 miles ) from the epicenter , said in a statement from the organization . `` We were panicked , but all of us are safe . '' No tsunami warning was issued . The strongest earthquake , which struck at 6:10 p.m. local time ( 8:40 a.m . ET ) , was 12.2 miles below the earth 's surface , according to the USGS . That quake 's epicenter was about 42 miles from the city of Gangtok and 169 miles east of Kathmandu , according to the geological survey . CNN 's Harmeet Singh , Manesh Shrestha and Bharati Naik contributed to this report .
NEW : 7 dead , 98 are injured in India 's Sikkim province , but an official notes improvements . 300 civilians , 22 tourists are rescued near India 's border with Tibet , an official says . The quakes set off landslides that , with heavy rains , are hampering rescue efforts . A wall of the British embassy in Kathmandu collapsed due to the quake , killing 3 .