At least nine people were killed-six in India and three in Bangladesh-and 120 were injured as a result of the quake, which also caused extensive damage to property and buildings in Imphal and elsewhere in Manipur. At least 43 people have also been reported injured, home ministry spokesman Kuldeep Singh Dhatwalia told CNN.
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ITANAGAR: The tremor was also felt in entire Arunachal Pradesh at 4.35 am. Manipur state’s home minister, G. Gaikhangam, said several areas suffered extensive damage, especially the capital, Imphal.
A major bridge and the newly-built Central Agricultural University were damaged in the quake, and bricks tumbled from the building that houses the historic womens’ market, Ima Keithel, a local landmark.
Shangthon Kamei, a teacher in Tamenglong, said the quake rattled buildings.
The India Meteorological Department placed the epicenter of the quake in the Tamenglong region of Manipur state, at a depth of about about 10 miles.
The death toll in the magnitude 6.7 natural disaster that struck Manipur and other parts of North-East India yesterday has risen to eight, official sources said.
Strong tremors have been felt across the region.
The rescue operation in Imphal is being hampered by severed power supplies and telecommunication links across the city, which is home to 270,000 people. In the region of the natural disaster, the Indian plate is moving toward the north-northeast with respect to the Eurasian plate at a velocity of approximately 1.9 inches a year.
The injuries and fatalities were caused by falling debris around Imphal, the capital of India’s Manipur state.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi said he had spoken to Home Minister Rajnath Singh, who is in Assam, and asked him to coordinate relief efforts.
“We haven’t seen any help from the government side until now”, said Kangujam, the disaster response volunteer in Manipur. Even before people could come to terms with the early morning tremors, an aftershock struck at around 9:27 am, measuring 3.6 on the Richter scale.
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The National Crisis Management Committee met in Delhi and took stock of the situation.
