Woman dies as quake hits northeast India

Agartala/Guwahati/Shillong, Jan 3 (IANS) A woman was killed and some others were injured in Tripura when a 5.7-magnitude earthquake hit India's northeastern region and Bangladesh on Tuesday.

There was no report of any major damage from other states, officials said.

Kamalini Kanda, 50, died of heart attack out of fear during the tremor at Kamalpur in Dhalai district in Tripura, an official of the Tripura Disaster Management Centre said.

Five other people were injured in different parts of the state during the quake.

The official said at least 50 house were damaged, some badly, as landslides occurred in different places of Dhalai district. The earthquake blocked roads after trees were uprooted.

The quake hit most states of the northeastern region at 2.39 p.m., triggering panic.

Its epicentre was said to be Dhalai in northern Tripura with a depth of 28 km.

Cracks developed in some old buildings, including a few police stations, in Kamalpur and Salema in Dhalai district.

A report from Dhaka said a moderate earthquake measuring 5.5 magnitude on the Richter scale hit Bangladesh, including capital Dhaka.

The US Geological Survey said it measured 5.5 on the Richter scale but Indian Met Department said the intensity was 5.7, Bangladesh's online news agency bdnews24 reported.

The tremor lasted four to five seconds.

Experts consider India's mountainous northeast the sixth major quake-prone belt in the world.

The region has seen some of the biggest quakes in history.

In 1897, a Shillong-epicentred quake measured 8.2 on the Richter scale. In 1950, an earthquake in Assam measuring 8.7 on the Richter Scale forced the mighty Brahmaputra river to change its course.

In September 2011, Sikkim suffered heavy damage after a quake hit the state.