6.7 earthquake jolts northeastern India and Bangladesh, killing 13

A magnitude 6.7 earthquake struck northeastern India on Monday morning, killing at least eight people, wounding 100 and causing tremors that were felt from Bhutan to Myanmar.

 

The U.S. Geological Survey said the epicenter was 18 miles west of Imphal, the capital of India’s Manipur state. Four people died there, city officials said.

 

Five people were reported killed in Bangladesh, where the quake severely shook buildings in Dhaka, the capital, and other parts of the country. Authorities said at least 100 people in Bangladesh were wounded.

 

Rescue teams from India’s paramilitary National Disaster Response Force rushed to affected areas in the country to provide aid to injury victims, the Home Affairs Ministry said. Residents said the death toll was not forecast to rise substantially as there were no reports of large building collapses or mass casualties.

 

“People panicked initially, but hardly any private homes have been damaged severely,” Pradip Phanjoubam, editor of the Imphal Press Journal newspaper, said in a phone interview. “It is mostly the government infrastructure that has been damaged because it is not built well.”

 

Read More: 6.7 earthquake jolts northeastern India and Bangladesh, killing 13 – LA Times