Staff Correspondent:

At least 10 people, including two children, were killed and hundreds injured on Friday after a strong earthquake struck Dhaka and several other districts.

Four deaths were reported in Dhaka, five in Narsingdi and one in Narayanganj.

The tremor, recorded at 10:38am, measured 5.7 on local monitoring systems and was centred about 25km northeast of Dhaka at a depth of 10km.

The US Geological Survey estimated the magnitude at 5.5 and placed the epicentre 14km west-southwest of Narsingdi.

DHAKA

According to the Dhaka District Relief and Rehabilitation Office, buildings in 14 areas, including Malibagh, Armanitola, Banani and Mohammadpur, suffered damage.

In the capital’s Armanitola, three people died when bricks and plaster from an eight-storey building collapsed onto a butcher shop below.

Sohel Hossain, officer-in-charge (investigation) of Bongshal police station, said the victims were Rafiul Islam, 21, Abdur Rahim, 41, and Meherab Hossain Rimon, 12.

In another case, Md Maksud, 50, died after an under-construction building’s rooftop railing collapsed on him in Mugda, confirmed Md Asaduzzaman, inspector of Mugda police station, adding that doctors at Mugda Medical College Hospital declared him dead.

Meanwhile, at least 10 students were injured fleeing buildings at Dhaka University. Of them, five sustained severe injuries after jumping from dormitory floors. Several buildings reportedly had cracks and falling plaster.

At least five female students of Jagannath University were injured while trying to go down by stairs from their 14-storey residential hall.

Fresh cracks appeared in six newly built 10-storey residential halls of Jahangirnagar University. The buildings were already under scrutiny for alleged construction irregularities.

A six-storey building in Swamibagh and a seven-storey building in Kalabagan tilted, and a structure at the Chief Adviser’s Office sustained damage, though no casualties were reported.

Around 60 injured people were treated at Mitford Medical College Hospital journalists.

At Dhaka Medical College, around 40 to 45 people received initial treatment, with multiple still admitted.

The Ministry of Disaster Management and Relief opened a control room to coordinate emergency response. Disaster Management Adviser Faruk-e-Azam, Bir Pratik, instructed officials to assess damages immediately.

Health Adviser Nurjahan Begum visited DMCH and spoke with the families of victims.

NARSINGDI

Mohammad Anowar Hossain, deputy commissioner of Narshingdi district, confirmed four deaths.

Nasiruddin, 60, collapsed and died while running home from his farmland during the quake in the district’s Polash upazila.

In Shibpur upazila, Forkan, 40, fell from a tree and died during the earthquake.

Kazom Ali, 75, was killed when the wall of his earthen house collapsed in Charsindur union.

Construction materials from an under-construction building fell in Chinishpur. In the event, Md Delwar, 37, and his two children were hurt. Rushed to DMCH, Delwar’s son Omar was declared dead.

More than 150 people received treatment across hospitals in the district, according to the district administration official, reports BSS.

NARAYANGANJ

A 10-month-old child, Fatema, died in Rupganj when a boundary wall collapsed during the quake. Her mother Kulsum Begum and another woman, Jesmin Begum, were injured and admitted to hospital.

GAZIPUR

Dozens of workers, including garment workers, were injured in stampedes as they hurried out of factories.

At least 48 people were treated at Shaheed Tajuddin Ahmad Medical College Hospital and 28 were admitted, said Maheul Islan, deputy police commissioner of Gazipur Metropolitan Police (city special branch).

Two buildings, one in Tongi’s Masimpur area and another in Bilashpur, were tilted, he added.

Hospitals in the district treated more than 270 people, said Eshrat Hahan Any, doctor of Shaheed Ahsan Ullah Master General Hospital.

Syeda Afroza Ema, a doctor at the emergency department of Sreepur Upazila Health Complex, said 70-80 patients received treatment there.

POWER DISRUPTIONS AND FIRE

According to Bangladesh Power Development Board, multiple power plants tripped after the earthquake, disrupting electricity nationwide.

Shut-down units included Bibiyana 2, Bibiyana 3, Ashuganj 225 MW (APSCL), Ashuganj Precision, Ashuganj TSK, SS Power U-2, and Sirajganj U-1.

A fire broke out at the Ghorashal Thermal Power Plant’s AIS grid substation in Narsingdi, triggered by the tremor. The incident cut power from all 230 kV, 132 kV and 33 kV lines linked to the substation, said Md Abdul Shahid, senior station officer at the Polash Fire Service. Supply from the facility was halted.

CHATTOGRAM

A seven-storey building in Mansurabad reportedly tilted after the quake.

Police and Fire Service officials inspected the site.

Locals alleged that the building, owned by former mayor M Manjur Alam, may have been slightly tilted earlier; others said the tilt occurred after the quake, said Babul Azad, OC of Double-mooring police station.

The building houses ten families and a diabetic care centre on the ground floor.