9 killed as 6.7 magnitude quake jolts Northeast

Nine persons were killed and over 120 seriously injured as an earthquake measuring 6.7 on the Richter scale hit Manipur early on Monday, damaging several buildings, including government offices, schools and hospitals.

The epicentre of the quake which struck at 4.30 a.m., was at Kabui Kjulen, 10 km from Noney sub-division of Manipur’s Tamenglong district, officials said.

People were jolted by the quake across the northeastern and eastern States including Assam, Tripura, West Bengal, Odisha and Jharkhand.

While seven persons, including a teenaged girl, were killed in Manipur, one person each died in Bihar and West Bengal.

Two teams of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) were deployed in Manipur and rapid action squads of the State Health Department were despatched to the affected areas. Another NDRF team was sent to Assam.

Source:-The Hindu, 05-Jan-2016