Britain extends condolences over earthquake in Nepal

British government officials on Saturday expressed their condolences over the deadly earthquake in Nepal, which has caused a huge loss of property and lives.

"Shocking news about the earthquake in Nepal - the UK will do all we can to help those caught up in it," British Prime Minister David Cameron said on his Twitter account.

In a statement, British Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond said: "My thoughts are with the people of Nepal and everyone affected by the terrible loss of life and widespread damage caused by the earthquake."

Hammond added that the British Embassy in Nepal was offering assistance to the authorities and was providing consular assistance to British Nationals.

Meanwhile, Britain has deployed a team of humanitarian experts to Nepal to provide "urgent humanitarian support" for people affected by the earthquake, Britain's International Development Secretary Justine Greening announced.

The eight-strong team of disaster relief experts will travel to Nepal overnight and begin work on Sunday "assessing the scale of the damage and helping the Nepalese authorities direct the humanitarian response," Greening said.

More than 900 people, including 256 in the capital of Kathmandu, have been killed in a 7.8-magnitude earthquake, which jolted large parts of Nepal as well as eastern India and Bangladesh on Saturday.