Quake kills six, injures over 200 in Bengal

At least six people were killed and over 20 injured in West Bengal's northern districts following the 6.8 earthquake that jolted large parts of northern and eastern India, police said Monday.

The powerful quake, with its epicentre in adjoining Sikkim, was followed by two aftershocks after 6pm on Sunday.

Two people died in Siliguri, three in Darjeeling and one in Jalpaiguri district, police said.

Many buildings developed cracks and the neighbouring Himalayan state of Sikkim was cut-off from north Bengal by landslides triggered by the tremors in Darjeeling's Kalimpong and Kurseong hill sub-divisions.

Many patients in a nursing home of Siliguri were injured, North Bengal Affairs Minister Gautam Deb said late Sunday.

The National Highway 31 A -- considered the lifeline of Sikkim -- was blocked due to landslides, cutting off the state's road link with the outside world.

Doctors in a Siliguri hospital said around 40 people had been admitted while 40 others were discharged after being given first-aid.

At least 50 others were treated in different nursing homes and hospitals of the district, the doctors said.

Power supply was disrupted in areas near Sikkim -- Kalimpong, adjoining Jalpaiguri and Cooch Behar districts. A sub-station was damaged in Siliguri but the supply was restored late Sunday.

"Most of the north Bengal areas, including Darjeeling, were lashed by heavy rains that continued through Sunday night. The situation deteriorated with landslides in Kalimpong and Kurseong," Deb said.

"The impact was more in Cooch Behar district. Jalpaiguri has also been hit," he said.

A fire brigade official said the quake damaged power lines, disrupted telecom networks, caused wall collapses and gas leakage.

An emergency helpline (03322145486) was started at the director general of police's control room at the state secretariat, Writers' Buildings, and another in the city police headquarters in Kolkata.

Weather officials have warned of more landslides in the Darjeeling hills. "There may also be aftershocks," said G.C. Debnath, director of the Regional Meteorological Centre, Kolkata.

Control rooms have been opened in all the districts.

Panic gripped Kolkata, where Durga Puja shopping was at its peak. Shopping malls were evacuated, people rushed to the streets, and a few superstitious ones blew conches to ward off evil spirits.