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04.01.2016 India

Earthquake Hits India

By BBC
Earthquake Hits India
04.01.2016 LISTEN

An earthquake measuring 6.7 magnitude has hit north-east India, near its borders with Myanmar and Bangladesh, killing at least nine people.

The quake struck at 04:35 local time (23:05 GMT Sunday) about 29km (18 miles) north-west of Imphal, the capital of Manipur state, according to the US Geological Survey (USGS).

Strong tremors have been felt across the region.
Six of those killed were in Manipur while Bangladesh reported three deaths.

The earthquake was originally reported to have measured 6.8 magnitude.

India’s Meteorological Department said it struck at a depth of 17km (about 10 miles).

The tremor cracked walls and a newly-built six-storey building in Imphal collapsed, police said. Other buildings were also reported to have been damaged.

As well as six people killed, more than were 30 injured in Manipur, the Press Trust of India news agency reported.

In the neighbouring Bangladesh, three people were reported dead while dozens were being treated in hospital for injuries sustained during the quake.

The BBC’s Salman Saeed in Dhaka said panicked residents fled into the streets.

A 23-year-old man died when he suffered a stroke after the quake while two others died of heart attacks, news agency AFP quoted police as saying.

A university student, who jumped from a fourth-floor balcony to escape, was among the critically wounded, the agency added.

Deepak Shijagurumayum, a resident of Imphal, told AFP by phone that his house was severely damaged by the quake.

“Almost everyone was asleep when it struck and were thrown out of their beds,” Mr Shijagurumayum said.

“People were crying and praying in the streets and in open spaces. Hundreds remained outdoors for several hours fearing aftershocks.”

Shaking was felt as far away as Kolkata (formerly Calcutta), 600km (370 miles) away. “Many people were seen coming out of their homes in panic,” local resident Rabin Dev told AFP news agency.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi tweeted that he had spoken to the region’s chief ministers and federal Home Minister Rajnath Singh “on the situation arising in the wake of the earthquake”.

Casualties have not yet been reported on the Myanmar side of the border, which is sparsely populated.

The region has a history of powerful earthquakes caused by the northward collision of the Indian and Eurasian plates. They are moving towards each other at a rate of 4-5cm per year.

In 2005, a magnitude 7.6 quake in Pakistan-administered Kashmir left more than 75,000 people dead.

In April 2015, Nepal suffered its worst earthquake on record with 9,000 people killed and about 900,000 homes damaged or destroyed.

-bbc

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