AGENCY
IMPHAL: With the death of one more person, the earthquake toll in Manipur rose to seven this afternoon but no casualties were reported from Tamenglong District where the epicentre was located, officials said.
Manipur bore the brunt of the temblor which struck at 4:35 AM, jolting the people out of their sleep.
Many buildings collapsed or developed cracks in Tamenglong, where the earthquake was epicentred at a depth of 17 km. All seven deaths were in the state while 70 people were injured.
The army and air force have joined the relief operations and two teams of National Disaster Response Force have been rushed to Imphal while one was being sent to Assam where at least 20 people were injured.
Of the seven deaths in Manipur, three were killed in Imphal West District, one at Jiribam in Imphal East District and two in Senapati Districts, officials said.
At least 50 persons were injured from all over the state, army officials said.
They have been admitted to RIMS, JNIMS and Shija Hospital, they added.
In Tamenglong, the epicenter of the temblor, district officials said so far no casualties have been reported but four persons were seriously injured in house collapses.
“The epicentre was near the river Barak, so there was little damage. Though cracks have been reported from many houses, so far there has been no report of any casualty,” Additional Deputy Commissioner Joseph Paulin said.
He said that though a bridge in the western part of the district over the river has been damaged, but connectivity was not a major problem with Imphal, located 146 km from district headquarter.
Besides the army, the Indian Air Force and the National Disaster Response Force, the Assam Rifles was also engaged in relief operations, the state officials said.
