AN earthquake measuring 6.7 magnitude has hit northeast India, near its borders with Myanmar and
Bangladesh, killing at least nine people.

BBC quoting the U.S. Geological Survey said the quake struck at 04:35 local time about 29km north-west of Imphal, the capital of Manipur state. Strong tremors have been felt across the region.

Six of those killed were in Manipur while Bangladesh reported three deaths.
The earthquake was originally reported to have measured 6.8 magnitude.

India’s Meteorological Department said it struck at a depth of 17km.

The tremor cracked walls and a newly-built six-storey building in Imphal collapsed, police said. Other buildings were also reported to have been damaged.

More than were 30 injured in Manipur.

In the neighbouring Bangladesh, three people were reported dead while dozens were being treated in hospital for injuries sustained during the quake.

The BBC’s Salman Saeed in Dhaka said panicked residents fled into the streets. A 23-year-old man died when he suffered a stroke after the quake while two others died of heart attacks.

A university student, who jumped from a fourth-floor balcony to escape, was among the critically wounded, the agency added.

Several buildings had collapsed in Imphal, and many others had suffered structural damage.

The worst affected appeared to be the Mother’s Market or the ‘Ima Keithel’ area. It is home to lots of buildings, private houses, a hospital and the city’s press club.

Many of them had been damaged in the quake and the entire area had been cordoned off. A number of buildings there had been evacuated.

A number of electricity lines had been damaged and many areas are without power.

At the main regional hospital in Imphal, 37 people had been admitted with injuries.

Shaking was felt as far away as Kolkata (formerly Calcutta), 600km (370 miles) away. “Many people were seen coming out of their homes in panic,” local resident Rabin Dev said.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi tweeted that he had spoken to the region’s chief ministers and federal Home Minister Rajnath Singh “on the situation arising in the wake of the earthquake”.