Dhaka: At least 10 people have died and more than 200 others were injured across Bangladesh after the 5.7-magnitude earthquake struck the South Asian nation, causing widespread panic and structural damage, local media reported on Saturday.
Four of the victims died in Dhaka, five in Narsingdi, and one in Narayanganj. In Dhaka, the fatalities occurred in Armanitola after the railing of a building’s roof collapsed, killing three people and injuring several others, reports leading Bangladeshi newspaper, The Dhaka Tribune.
In Narsingdi, five deaths were reported as the impact of the tremor rippled through the district.
The quake, which struck at 10:38 a.m. on Friday, measured 5.7 on the Richter scale according to the Bangladesh Meteorological Department, which identified its epicentre in Madhabdi, Narsingdi and described it as a moderate earthquake.
More than 200 people sustained injuries in Dhaka, Narsingdi and Gazipur. The Directorate General of Health Services confirmed that 10 injured people were admitted to DMCH and 10 others to Shaheed Tajuddin Ahmad Medical College Hospital.
Several Dhaka University students were seriously hurt after leaping from buildings in panic, with at least 10 students injured, some requiring hospitalisation.
In Narsingdi, 45 people received treatment at the district hospital, with three transferred to DMCH in critical condition, while another 10 were treated at the Narsingdi 100-bed Hospital.
In Gazipur’s Sreepur area, more than 150 workers were injured in a stampede as they rushed out of the multi-storey Denimex garment factory when the quake struck.
Reports from Dhaka indicated that minor cracks appeared in buildings across the capital, according to the local media.
Residents described the experience as unlike any tremor they had felt before, with many taking to social media to share photos and videos showing cracked walls, damaged floors and furniture scattered throughout their homes.
(IANS)
