A moderate intensity earthquake measuring 6.8 on the Richter scale, with its epicentre near the Sikkim-Nepal border, shook the Northeast and large parts of northern and eastern India, including the Delhi region, on Sunday evening.
The India Meteorological Department said the earthquake’s epicentre was at latitude 27.7 degrees north and longitude 88.2 degrees east.
Tremors were felt in Assam, parts of West Bengal, Jharkhand, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan. Initial reports said four people were killed in Sikkim, five others in Bihar and four in North Bengal, many due to houses collapsing. Several buildings in Gangtok and Darjeeling developed cracks. Power supply was cut in Sikkim after the quake and the three aftershocks that followed, but the phone lines were up.
The Siliguri-Gangtok highway was damaged at four places, and an Army bus and two other Army vehicles were missing.
Mobile phones and power supply were disrupted in Bihar Jharkha-nd, and parts of West Bengal.
The earthquake was felt for about 15 seconds at around 6.10 pm, triggering panic among people enjoying their Sunday evening.
A tremor was felt in several parts of New Delhi and Gurgaon. This was the second jolt in the NCR in a fortnight — after the tremors of September 7.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh called up Sikkim chief minister Pawan Kumar Kumar Chamling and offered him all help from the Centre. The Army and five Indian Air Force aircraft were pressed into service for relief operations.