New Delhi, Sep 19 (ANI): Home Ministry spokesman Onkar Kedia on Monday said that persistent rain and landslides hampered search for survivors in Sikkim, the epicentre of a 6.8 magnitude earthquake that hit certain parts of the country.
Talking to reporters here, Kedia said: "Landslides and heavy rain were slowing the rescue operations as some roads have been damaged delaying the arrival of team of doctors and security personnel sent for assistance in search operations."
He further said: "Sikkim had been worst hit as it received the most turbulent shocks killing seven persons and leaving another 64 injured."
"According to our information 14 persons have died in the earthquake that had hit Sikkim and other parts of India yesterday. In Sikkim seven people have died, in Bihar two deaths and in West Bengal five deaths have been reported so far. 94 people have been injured in the earthquake in which 64 people are in Sikkim, 29 in West Bengal and in Assam one person has been injured," he added.
Kedia further said as far as assistance is concerned we have sent 10 National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) team, five from Delhi and five from Kolkata.
"We have also deployed over 700 ITBP personnel for rescue work. A team of doctors has also been sent. A team of 20 doctors has been sent from Delhi. Some roads are affected due to landslides so every effort is being made to clear them at the earliest," he added.
Sikkim, Bihar, West Bengal, Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya, Manipur and Mizoram were affected in this earthquake.
Meanwhile, a medical team comprising of 20 doctors left Delhi for Sikkim and reached Bagdogra. They are held at Bagdogra due to landslides causing road blockage at various places on the highway.
As per DG, Border Roads, clear estimate is not available. However, he has stated that there are 16 landslides in a stretch of 10 kms. Efforts are on to clear the roads. Access through an alternate road is also being explored.
MHA officials along with NDMA and NDRF personnel have been working round the clock since the time of occurrence of earthquake to mobilize and facilitate response teams.
The epicentre of the quake was located at Mangan and Sakyong areas, over 50 kilometres from Gangtok on the Sikkim-Nepal border. Tremors were also felt in Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura, Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Chandigarh and Delhi. (ANI)
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