2 dead, 69 hurt as strong quake strikes North India

Jammu/New Delhi, May 1: Two persons were killed, and 69, including 32 students, were injured and scores of buildings damaged in Jammu and Kashmir when an earthquake measuring 5.8 on Richter scale, shook parts of North India at around 12:27 p.m on Wednesday.

The twin districts of Kishtwar and Doda in Jammu region were the hardest hit where nearly 400 structures, including shools, hospitals and houses, developed cracks. Two persons were killed and some 69, including 32 students, were injured in the two districts, officials said.

An Indian Air Force chopper airlifted a six-year old girl, Muskaan, injured in the earthquake from Kishtwar to Jammu after she suffered critical head injuries, IAF officials said. The girl was admitted to a hospital in Jammu for further treatment.

The Jammu and Kashmir government assured all possible help to victims of the earthquake in Doda and Kishtwar districts.

“The government will extend all support to the quake victims of Doda and Kishtwar districts,” Rural Development minister Ali Mohammad Sagar said.

Necessary instructions had been issued to concerned district administrations to assess the loss caused to various structures for providing necessary relief at the earliest, the minister added.

Tremors were felt in Punjab and Haryana but there were no immediate reports of any casualty or damage.

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

The earthquake also shook Pakistan, including capital Islamabad, Rawalpindi, Peshawar, Lahore, Sialkot, Faisalabad and Gilgit and across Pakistanoccupied Kashmir though there were no immediate reports of casualties or damage to property. The quake lasted for more than seven seconds.

On Tuesday, an earthquake measuring 4.3 on the Richter scale was felt in Bhaderwah and Doda district in Jammu and Kashmir but no casualties were reported. — PTI