Thangkhonao Gangte
wasn't sure if he was awake when a magnitude-6.7 earthquake struck northeastern
India on Monday morning.
"What is
happening? Am I dreaming or is this real?" Gangte, who works for World
Vision's HIV AIDS Project, asked himself.
"Then I started
to hear my wife and children shouting. We all came out of the house with fear
and confusion as it was still dark," he said.
At least six people
died and at least 79 were injured as a result of the quake, according
to report issued by the State Government of Manipur.
The epicenter of the
quake was 29 kilometers (18 miles) west of the city of Imphal, the capital of
Manipur state, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.
Home Ministry
spokesman Kuldeep Singh Dhatwalia told CNN there was some damage to residential
and government buildings in Imphal.
The quake was also
felt in neighboring Bangladesh, where one person died of a heart attack and
more than 30 were hurt rushing out of buildings for safety, according to Dhaka
Superintendent of Police Farukh Hossain. The quake was felt in eastern Nepal,
but no casualties have been reported, Nepal Home Ministry Joint Secretary
Rameshwor Dangal said.
The temblor, which
hit at 4:35 a.m. local time (7:05 p.m. ET), was centered in an isolated area.
Imphal itself has a population of more than 250,000. Emergency crews from a
variety of agencies responded quickly to provide relief and rescue, Dhatwalia
said.
Cabinet Secretary P.
K. Sinha convened a meeting of the National Crisis Management Committee (NCMC)
Monday to review the situation.
Some power facilities
suffered damage during the quake and the power supply to Imphal remains
disrupted, but the telecommunications systems were back to normal.
Another tremor,
measuring 3.6, was recorded five hours later.
The quake, which took
place about 55 kilometers (about 34 miles) underground, originally was reported
as magnitude 6.8, but that was later revised to a magnitude of 6.7, USGS said.
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