A 5.5 magnitude earthquake has rocked Bangladesh, claiming at least five lives, including one child, and leaving over 450 people injured. The tremor, with its epicenter located near the Narsingdi district, approximately 30 kilometers from the bustling capital city of Dhaka, caused widespread panic and significant disruption.
Witnesses described buildings shaking violently and makeshift structures collapsing, prompting residents to rush out into the streets seeking safety. The sheer force of the quake was unprecedented for many, with Syeda Rizwana Hasan, the country's environmental adviser, stating, "We have never experienced an earthquake this powerful in the last five years."
Impact and Casualties Across Bangladesh
The devastation in Dhaka was particularly evident in the Armanitola area, where deputy police commissioner Mallik Ahsan Uddin Sami reported that three individuals tragically lost their lives when a railing and debris fell from a five-story building. Education institutions also faced chaos; at Dhaka University, at least ten students sustained injuries in a stampede as they frantically tried to evacuate the campus.
Across Bangladesh, the scale of injuries is significant. Nitai Chandra De Sarkar, director of the department's monitoring division, confirmed 461 reported injuries nationwide, with a notable concentration of 252 casualties in the Gazipur district, situated north of Dhaka. While the immediate focus remains on assessing casualties and damage, Sarkar told the BBC that large-scale rescue operations from rubble or extensive debris management are not yet the primary challenge.
Eyewitness Accounts of the Tremor
Personal accounts underscore the intensity of the seismic event. Bengali Sadman Sakib, 30, conveyed his astonishment to Reuters, saying, "I have never felt such tremor in my 30 years of life. We were at the office when the furniture started shaking." He recounted rushing down stairs to find others already on the street. Another student, Abdullah, described the "whole building shaking" as he awoke to the earthquake.
Regional Effects and Sporting Interruption
The tremors extended beyond Bangladesh's borders, registering in eastern Indian states adjacent to the country, though no significant damage was reported there.
In an unexpected turn, the earthquake even paused an international sporting event. Ireland's second cricket test match in Bangladesh was temporarily halted. Coaches and players not involved in the game sought refuge at the boundary, while spectators in the stands took cover. After a brief three-minute stoppage, play resumed. Ireland's head coach, Heinrich Malan, drawing on his experience from New Zealand, remarked, "It's never a nice feeling and you're trying to understand what is happening in the moment around you... Everything stood still for a couple of minutes and we got back to business, but we're thinking of everyone and hoping there wasn't too much damage done." The incident served as a stark reminder of nature's unpredictable power, even amidst a sporting spectacle.