9 dead as north-east Manipur state hit by 6.7 magnitude tremor

Baku. 4 January. REPORT.AZ/ A 6.7 magnitude earthquake hit India’s remote northeast region before dawn on Monday, killing at least eight people, injuring 100 others and causing damage to several buildings.

Report informs citing the foreign media, five were killed in India the government said, while three people died in Bangladesh after suffering strokes or heart attacks following the early-morning quake. One more person has died recently.

Many of the deaths and injuries were caused by falling debris in and around Imphal, the capital of Manipur state, police said.

The powerful tremor left large cracks in walls and a portion of a popular market building collapsed in the state capital.

A newly constructed six-storey building also collapsed in Imphal, the police control room said.

The early morning tremor was also strongly felt in the Bangladeshi capital Dhaka. Police there said nearly 60 people were being treated at a major hospital, including one university student who jumped from a fourth-floor balcony and was in a critical condition.

One 23-year-old Bangladeshi man died after suffering a stroke when he ran out of his house, while another two people – a farmer and a university official – died of heart attacks, police said.

India’s meteorological department said the epicenter of the quake was in Tamenglong region of Manipur state, near the country’s borders with Myanmar and Bangladesh.

The US Geological Survey said the depth of the quake was 55km (34 miles).

The tremor hit at 4.35 am (23.05 GMT Sunday) 35km west-northwest of the city of Imphal. The area is remote with poor cellphone and internet connections, and information about conditions outside of major cities may take time to emerge.