Earthquake: 6 dead in UP, CM announces relief

At least six persons were today killed and over a dozen injured as major parts of Uttar Pradesh felt tremors resulting in collapse of buildings and walls.

While three deaths were reported from Barabanki district adjoining the state capital, two were reported from Gorakhpur and one from Sant Kabir Nagar.

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav has announced a financial assistance of rupees five lakh to the kin of those killed in the earthquake, Rs 50,000 to grievously injured and Rs 20,000 to those having minor injuries, an official spokesman said here.
The Chief Minister has also talked to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and apprised him of the situation in the state, the official said.

"The CM called the Prime Minister and apprised him with the measures being taken by the state government," the spokesman said.

The CM has asked state Chief Secretary and DGP along with the District Magistrates and Superintendents of Police to assess loss of life and property caused by the earthquake.
Meanwhile, a Mumbai-Kathmandu flight of the Jet Airways was diverted to Lucknow and emergency landing was made at the Chaudhary Charan Singh Airport here after
Kathmandu Airport was closed following the earthquake this morning, officials said.

After getting information of the quake, CM Akhilesh ordered immediate closure of schools and asked top officers to take stock of the situation.

According to reports from Barabanki district, a woman and two children were killed when an under-construction wall collapsed in Basantapur village in Mohammadpur Khala area.

In Gorakhpur, two persons, including a two and a half year old child, were killed, police said.

Similarly, an eight-year-old girl Khushboo was killed when a house collapsed in Purwa village in Mehdawal area in Sant Kabir Nagar.

In Kanpur, people rushed out of their houses and work places after the city experiences two tremors in a gap of 15 minutes.

Two tremors were felt at around 12 pm after a gap of 15 minutes and appealed to people not to be panicked, said ADM Kanpur (City) Avinash Singh.

In Mathura, the quake that lasted for over a minute, caused cracks in the old building which housed the office of Senior Superintendent of Police forcing the officials to rush out. Also, cracks were visible on the 100-year-old building of the municipal council of the district.

Besides, strong vibrations were felt in Etah, Farukkhabad, Noida, Pratapgarh, Mainpuri, Hathras, Aligarh, Varanasi, Sultanpur, Rae Bareli, Faizabad, Firozabad and several other districts.

The tremor, which struck at around 11.45 am continued for nearly 30 seconds and recurred again at 12.15 pm.

The tremors created panic across the state forcing people to vacate their work places and high rise apartments, affecting communication and transportation services.
Reports said that buildings developed cracks in several districts of the state.

The spokesman said that reports were being collected from all the districts, specially those along the Indo-Nepal border, to assess the situation.

A strong earthquake measuring 7.9 on the Richter scale shook Nepal and several provinces in India, including the national capital, leaving a trail of devastation in the Himalayan nation.

The temblor that occurred at 11:41 am IST, with its epicentre in Nepal, flattened houses, caused huge craters and cracks on roads in the Nepalese capital Kathmandu, and sent people scampering out of their offices and homes.

According to Indian Meteorological Department, tremors were felt in Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand, Rajasthan, Haryana and Punjab, lasting for a minute, triggering panic and forcing people to rush out of their homes and offices.