Earthquake rattles north India, kills 2 in Jammu

Two people were killed, and 69 others, including 32 students, were injured and scores of buildings damaged in Jammu and Kashmir when an earthquake of moderate intensity shook parts of north India on Wednesday.

Twin districts of Kishtwar and Doda in Jammu region were the hardest hit where nearly 400 structures, including schools, hospitals and houses, developed cracks.

The quake, measuring 5.8 on the Richter Scale, struck Jammu and Kashmir and other parts of north India, including the national capital and its satellite towns at around 12.27 pm.

The tremors were felt in Punjab and Haryana but there were no immediate reports of any casualty or damage from the two states.

In Himachal Pradesh, the quake lasted nearly 30 seconds and was felt from tribal Lahaul and Spiti valley to the foothills of Una.

A few houses were damaged in Chamba as frightened people scampered out of their houses on to the streets in the hill state.

The quake rocked Kangra, Palampur, Solan, Hamirpur and other places in the state but no one was injured. The quake in Jammu and Kashmir was followed by a series of aftershocks in Doda and Kishtwar, the officials said.

Over 150 buildings, including four schools, suffered partial damage in Bhaderwah belt while 220 houses developed cracks in Thanala village on the Bhaderwah-Chamba border belt, they said.

Buildings of the All India Radio and the Bhaderwah Development Authority were also damaged in the quake, the officials said.

Gulab Ram, a shepherd, and Mulakh Raj were killed in landslides triggered by the temblor in Kuntawara area in Kishtwar district and Dunadi Gandoh in Bhaderwah respectively.

The injured were hospitalised, the officials said, adding a make-shift clinic had been set up by the army in Bhaderwah due to cracks in the newly-constructed hospital.

Reports pouring in from Poonch and Rajouri said a number of buildings had been damaged in the two districts.

No casualty or damage to property had been reported from Srinagar, the officials said.

On Tuesday, an earthquake, measuring 4.3 on the Richter Scale struck Bhaderwah and adjoining areas in Doda district.

"If this continues, we will have to sit in the open during the night," Arfat Khan, a shopkeeper in Bhadwerwah, said.

Today's quake, the third in the national capital and adjoining satellite townships in a fortnight, was felt for 20-25 seconds in Delhi, Gurgaon and Noida.

On April 24, a temblor, measuring 5.7 on the Richter Scale and epicentred in southern Afghanistan, rattled the National Capital Region.

On April 16, a 7.8 magnitude quake with its epicenter in Pakistan-Iran border jolted the region.