6 killed as powerful earthquake jolts northeast

Gangtok, Sept 18 (PTI) A powerful earthquake with a 6.8
magnitude rocked northeastern Indian state Sikkim and other
parts in the northeast Sunday leaving at least six persons
dead and over 50 injured besides causing extensive damage to
several buildings.
Four persons were killed in Sikkim - two at Singtham, one
at Dikchu in East Sikkim district and another at Mangan - as
the government sought Army's assistance in reaching help to
the affected, state Chief Secretary Karma Gyatso told PTI
here.
One person was killed in Jalpaiguri district in West
Bengal and another in Nalanda district in Bihar.
The National Disaster Relief Force in on way to Sikkim
and would reach Sikkim by tomorrow, Gyatso said.
Many tall buildings developed cracks in Gangtok and
Darjeeling and window panes shattered as people came out in
large numbers in panic. The earthquake claimed one life at
Singtham in East Sikkim district, while another died just
outside Singtham.
The epicentre of the quake - the biggest in two decades -
was located at Mangan and Sakyong areas, over 50 km from
Gangtok on Sikkim-Nepal border.
Tremors were felt in Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura, parts of
West Bengal, Bihar, Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan,
Chandigarh and Delhi.
Several buildings developed major cracks in the state
as personnel of the Disaster Management were deployed, Gyatso
said.
Two buildings of the Indo Tibetan Border Police (ITBP)
collapsed in Pegong area though there was no immediate report
of any casualty, a senior official said.
Three after shocks of 5.7, 5.3 and 4.6 magnitude on the
Richter Scale were felt in the region within 30 minutes of the
first quake.
"Tremors were felt between 30 seconds to one minute in
some parts of Sikkim, including Gangtok," Shailesh Nayak,
Secretary in the Ministry of Earth Sciences, said in Delhi.
Gyatso described it as "a massive earthquake. We have
alerted the armed forced and the paramilitary personnel."
Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh spoke to Sikkim Chief
Minister Pawan Kumar Chamling and offered help in all possible
ways, including availability of defence forces.
The Prime Minister directed Cabinet Secretary to call an
emergency meeting of the National Disaster Management
Authority, PMO sources said.
Five IAF planes pressed into action for relief operations.
Two teams of the National Disaster Response Force - five each
from Delhi and Kolkata - are being sent to assist in the
relief and rescue operations, R K Srivastava, Joint Secretary,
Disaster Management, in the Home Ministry, said.
R S Basnet, Principal Secretary to Sikkim Chief Minister's
Office said Army's assistance has been sought.
A woman was seriously injured in Gangtok near a cinema
hall in the market area when stones from an wall fell on her,
he said.
Reports said a building housing a small hotel in Sintam in
East Sikkim district collapsed and people were being
evacuated. Another house collapsed in Dikchu town in the same
district. A portion of the market at Dikchu also collapsed.
Several buildings in Gangtok developed major cracks and
people were seen moving to the Paljor stadium and other open
areas.
Power and water supply connections got snapped and
continuous rains during the last three days worsened the
situation.
Around 200 people have been brought to the ITBP relief
camp in Gangtok.
Army columns in small teams were deployed in rescue
mission across Sikkim. The columns comprised medical teams
with first aid, engineer detachments and relief and rescue
units, an army official said.
The tremor was felt in Delhi and Kolkata as well as
Ranchi, Darjeeling. Jalpaiguri, Siliguri, Birbhum and Bankura
districts in West Bengal.
"Darjeeling and Kalimpong are now in total darkness," West
Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said, adding, "We have
alerted all district magistrates throughout the state."
A Patna report said the tremor was felt in various parts
of Bihar, including Darbhanga.
Neighbouring Jharkhand also felt the shock, according to a
Ranchi report.
In the north, besides the national capital, the tremors
were felt in Jaipur and nearby areas of Rajasthan.
Panic gripped people in Lucknow and some other places in
Uttar Pradesh where the quake was also felt.