A powerful 6.7-magnitude earthquake with epicentre in India on Monday jolted Bangladesh, prompting people to rush out of their homes in panic resulting in death of five persons and injury to nearly 10
A powerful 6.7-magnitude earthquake with epicentre in India on Monday jolted Bangladesh, prompting people to rush out of their homes in panic resulting in death of five persons and injury to nearly 100 others.
The tremors were felt as far away as the Myanmar city of Yangon, which so far did not report any casualty.
Officials in Bangladesh said five persons died apparently due to heart attack caused by panic after the pre-dawn earthquake. One death was reported each from Dhaka, north-western Rajshahi, Lalmonirhat, north Jamalpur and north-western Panch- agarh.
The US Geological Survey said the quake hit at 4:35 AM (local time) 29 kilometres west-northwest of Imphal, India. The tremor was felt throughout Bangla- desh. In Dhaka, most people rushed out to the streets in panic.
TV news channels reported that several dilapidated buildings in the old part of Dhaka developed cracks.
Fire service officials said a six-storey building was tilted and another developed cracks at old Dhaka’s Bangshal and Shankaribazar areas respectively. “Inmates are still inside, we may ask them to evacuate if it appear risky after our assessment,” a fire service spokesman said.
According to the reports, the quake burst a gas pipeline at Ashulia on the outskirts of the capital sparking a flame, which was extinguished shortly.
“We have treated 30 people mostly students who were brought here from different dormitories of the Dhaka University. They were injured,” a duty doctor at the state-run Dhaka Medical College Hospital said.
He said the lone casualty reported at the facility was a 23-year-old youth who had no apparent injury on the body.
