Earthquake hits Bangladesh, tremors felt in Kolkata, adjacent Bengal districts

Kolkata (PTI): Tremors were felt in Kolkata and adjacent districts of West Bengal on Friday afternoon, after an earthquake of 5.5 magnitude on the Richter Scale jolted parts of Bangladesh, officials said.

The quake was felt at around 1.22 pm, an India Meteorological Department (IMD) official said.

It was recorded at a depth of 10 km below Earth's surface.

The epicentre of the quake was at a place named Nayabazar in Bangladesh, some 100 km from Kolkata, he said.

There was no immediate report of any loss of life or damage to property, another official said.

The tremors lasted for some 10 seconds, throwing people in Kolkata into a tizzy, who then sought the safety of open streets and began to scurry out of their buildings.

No aftershocks of the quake were immediately felt after the first bout of the shock.

Panic gripped government employees working at the state secretariat, Nabanna, the assembly house and at the office of the Chief Electoral Officer, who continued to remain on the streets in apprehension of aftershocks.

Similar scenes were witnessed at the city’s IT hub in Salt Lake and at multi-storey residential buildings in various parts of Kolkata.