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Ist LD: 6.8 magnitude jolts India's West Bengal and northeast

Xinhua, April 13, 2016 Adjust font size:

A strong earthquake on Wednesday shook many parts of eastern India and northeast, officials and locals said.

According to the Indian Meteorological Department, the earthquake of 6.8 magnitude occurred at 7:25 p.m local time.

"The epicenter of earthquake was in Myanmar - India border region located at 23.0 degrees north latitude and 94.9 degrees east longitude," the information released on the website of the Indian Meteorological Department said.

"The depth of the earthquake was 134 Km."

The earthquake was felt in India's eastern city of Kolkata, the capital of West Bengal.

Reports from Kolkata said panic-stricken people rushed out of buildings and gathered in open streets.

Some buildings were evacuated following the tremors.

"People blew conch shells on some streets in Kolkata to sound alarm and alert residents of high-rises," a local television news channel NDTV quoting eyewitnesses said.

Strong tremors were felt in Assam's Guwahati city and Patna city, the capital of Bihar, while mild tremors were felt in New Delhi and Chennai as well.

So far no reports of loss of life or damage to structures have been received.

On Sunday a similar earthquake with epicenter in Afghanistan hit Indian-controlled Kashmir and many northern Indian states including the capital city New Delhi.

Last year a powerful earthquake of 7.9 magnitude struck neighboring Nepal, causing large scale destruction and killing over 5,000 people and injuring another 8, 000. Endit