Bad weather affects rescue operation in quake-hit Sikkim, 28 dead

Large scale rescue and relief operations were on as the actual impact of Sunday's earthquake, measuring 6.8 on the Richter scale, emerged on Monday. Most of the quake-hit areas lie in the remote and largely inaccessible parts of the small Himalayan state Sikkim.

Till the last information, at least 16 people had died in different Indian states, while neighbouring Nepal reported five deaths. Another seven people were killed in China's autonomous Tibet province.

Bad weather was affecting rescue and relief operations as was raining heavily in most of the affected areas.

According to the ministry of home affairs (MHA), apart from Sikkim, West Bengal, Bihar, Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya, Manipur and Mizoram were also affected by the earthquake. Maximum nine people died in Sikkim, while 64 others were injured. West Bengal reported five deaths and injuries to 29. Two people died in Bihar, while one person was reported injured in Assam.

Bad weather affects rescue
Sikkim Governor B.P. Singh said inclement weather was hampering rescue operations. He said north Sikkim was the worst hit by the quake.

The Centre has mobilised 72 columns of army apart from Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) and Border Road Organisation (BRO) personnel. For the first time, the Indian Air Force (IAF) has deployed five aircraft, including two of its newly acquired C 130J Super Hercules.

The planes would be used to transport relief supplies to the National Disaster Relief Force (NDRF). The state-of-the-art aircraft are equipped to land in inhospitable terrains in darkness.

CCTV footage of Nepal mall as Quake Struck

Kathmandu, Nepal: Five people were killed as the Sikkim earthquake, with a 6.8 magnitude on the Richter Scale, shook nearby Nepal yesterday.

Three of the five Nepalese quake victims were killed when a high brick wall of the British Embassy at Lainchaur in Kathmandu collapsed, the police said.

Among them were Bir Bahadur Majhi and his eight-year-old daughter Anisha, who were walking past the Embassy when the wall collapsed. The other victim at this spot was identified as Sajan Shrestha, 36.

Two persons were killed in a wall collapse in Dharan which is close to the epicenter of the quake along the eastern Nepal-India border.

Several people were injured as they panicked and ran out of their homes, offices and marketplaces and on to the streets and open spaces.

Some people, panic-stricken, reportedly jumped off their houses, hotels and buildings that house shops.

This Close Circuit TV footage shows the inside of a shopping mall in Kathmandu as the earthquake shook Nepal.

Big earthquake in Sikkim, tremors across India: 28 dead, over 100 injured

New Delhi: At least 28 people have been killed, 16 in India, five in Nepal and seven in Tibet, and over 100 are injured after an earthquake measuring 6.8 on the Richter Scale shook Sikkim on Sunday evening. Strong tremors were also felt in parts of North and East India and parts of Bangladesh and Nepal, causing widespread panic. The epicentre of the quake is said to be just 64 kilometre North-West of Gangtok.

Seven people, including two Armymen, were killed in Sikkim and 33 others received injuries there. In Bihar, a seven-year-old girl was among two dead. Latehar was one of the worst hit in India; two people died there and wide cracks were visible on houses. Roads also cracked in several places and residents ran out on the streets. Four more died in West Bengal. Of the five people killed in Nepal, three casualties were reported from Kathmandu, where the British embassy collapsed and smashed a car.

Tremors were felt in Lucknow, Patna, Kolkata, New Delhi and the National Capital Region, which sent thousands of people running out of their homes. (Forum: Did you feel the tremors?)

Three aftershocks, of magnitude 5.7, 5.1 and 4.6 were also felt in Sikkim, says the India Meteorological Department.

Many buildings in Sikkim developed cracks, including the Sikkim Manipal University building. Key roads to the Hills have been badly damaged, leaving Sikkim virtually cut off from the rest of the country.

A total number of 4000 people are involved in the rescue operations including the personnel of the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP). They have launched search and rescue operations in the Pegong area of north Sikkim which has been "badly affected." The ITBP rescued 15 foreign tourists and 150 villagers in their operations. They were moved to battalion headquarters. Rescue operations are, however, being hampered by heavy rainfall and landslides.