One person was reported dead in north Bengal, while strong tremors were felt in Kolkata and its suburbs on Saturday as a high intensity earthquake measuring 7.9 on Richter Scale with its epicentre in Nepal, rocked many parts of north and east India.
“One person has died. We are receiving some other patients with injuries,” Sabyasachi Das, the superintendent of North Bengal Medical College and Hospital told The Hindu .
In Kolkata the tremors triggered panic as people came out of the high-rises housing several offices in the heart of city.
"My table and desktop started shaking vigorously. I could not figure out immediately, but later my colleagues rushed out and so did I," said Aditya Singh, who works in Dalhousie area. Cracks were visible in certain old houses in Kolkata.
Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee reacted on social media within minutes.
“We are monitoring situation closely in Bengal especially in Darjeeling and Siliguri. Spoke to senior disaster management team and others,” Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said.
In the city metro services were disrupted due to the earthquake. In certain metro stations, people were asked to clear the platform. The ongoing polling for 91 municipal bodies West Bengal held during the day was suspended for few minutes at several places due to the tremors.
