The tremor was felt across Bangladesh, reported PTI.
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The quake was centered about 18 miles northwest of Imphal (population of approximately 270,000), the capital of Manipur state, AIR said. Seven persons were killed, while about 70 persons sustained injuries. There were similar scenes in the north-eastern city of Guwahati, in the state of Assam, where a journalist said residents were “in a state of shock” after being woken by the shaking.
They were admitted to local hospitals. Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh has also assured that the Centre will extend all possible help to the affected states.
“Prime Minister Narendra Modi rang me up to say that funds will not stand in the way to provide relief measures to the people”, he said. Rescue teams from Guwahati were scrambling to reach Imphal.
Two other victims were from Imphal East district and identified as Dijapati (17) of Chandranathpur in Jiribam sub-division and Moirangthem Sarat (56) of Luwangsangbam Makha Leikai under Heingang police station.
Cabinet Secretary P.K. Sinha chaired a meeting of the National Crisis Management Committee here today to take stock of ongoing relief operations in Manipur in which the Chief Secretary of Manipur participated in the meeting through video conferencing.
At least ten people were killed in Manipur as a result of the 6.7 magnitude quake which struck in the early hours of Monday morning with its epicenter at Tamenglong district in Manipur, the tremors of which were also felt in Meghalaya. “There may be more casualties in the interior areas”, Rijiju said.
Shangthon Kamei, a teacher in Tamenglong, said the quake rattled buildings.
People were jolted out of their sleep in northeastern and eastern states including, Assam, Tripura, West Bengal, Odisha and Jharkhand, and many of them scampered out of their homes.
Report said rescue workers in Imphal used hand-held drilling machines to clear rubble from the ruins of a six-storey building under construction, the site of the heaviest damage in the city.
Residents said people fled from their homes, and power and telecoms links were down in the remote region. The damage was limited as the region is dotted with small houses with few tall buildings.
Many buildings were damaged across the region as walls cracked and crumbled as the ground shook. The border region is remote and sparsely populated on the Myanmar side.
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“I hope this does not set the mood for the rest of the year”, he said.
