Earthquake kills 10, injured over 600, sparks panic across country

A strong earthquake jolted the capital, Dhaka and the rest of the country on Friday morning. 10 people, including children, were killed and over six hundred were injured. The highest number of fatalities, five died in Narsingdi.

In Dhaka, four people died and one person died in Narayanganj. During the earthquake, many people jumped from buildings in panic. In addition, several buildings leaned or developed cracks.

The deceased include Rafiul Islam, 20, a second-year student at Sir Salimullah Medical College; businessman Abdur Rahim, 48; his son Abdul Aziz, also known as Rimon, 12; and security guard Maksud, 50. In Rupganj, Narayanganj, a 10 month old child, Fatema, died. In Narsingdi, the deceased were a child, Omar Faruk, 10, his father Delwar Hossain, 40, Forkan Mia, 35, elderly Kazem Ali, 75, and Nasir Uddin, 65.

According to the Meteorological Department, the earthquake was felt in various parts of the country at 10:38 am on Friday. It measured 5.7 on the Richter scale.

Police and fire service sources reported that, during the earthquake, the railing of the roof of a five-storey building in Kosaituli, Old Dhaka, collapsed, injuring three pedestrians – Rafiul Islam, Abdur Rahim and his son Abdul Aziz. They were taken to Mitford Hospital, where doctors declared them dead.

Md. Rawnak, a student of Government Shaheed Suhrawardy College who resides in the Kosaituli building, told Prothom Alo that the entire building was shaking during the earthquake.

Hearing sounds of objects falling from above, he went downstairs and found several people, including a child, lying injured in the alley. Local residents quickly transported them to hospital by rickshaw and van.

A visit to the site revealed blood stains in the alley at 22/C KP Ghosh Street in Kosaituli. Fire service workers were removing the collapsed railing of the five-storey building. Pieces of plaster had fallen to the ground.

Enamul Haque, zone commander of Fire Service Dhaka Sadar Zone 1, said they were searching the building to determine whether anyone was trapped inside.

Relatives stated that Rafiul Islam was a second year student at Sir Salimullah Medical College. He lived with his mother and sister in a rented house in Kosaituli. His father, Osman Gani, is the principal of Bancharampur Polytechnic Institute in Brahmanbaria.

They are from Gohail village in Bogura Sadar. At the time of the earthquake, Rafiul was buying meat with his mother in a shop on the ground floor of the building.

When the railing collapsed, both Rafiul and his mother, Nusrat Akter, were injured. Rafiul sustained a head injury. His mother is undergoing treatment at Mitford Hospital.

Rafiul’s sister, Atia Wasima Raida, told Prothom Alo that a police officer phoned to inform her of the incident. She rushed to the hospital to find that her only brother was no more. Her mother remains in critical condition.

Deceased Abdur Rahim was from Chandrakona, Lakshmipur. His young son, Abdul Aziz Rimon, also died in the incident.

Rahim lived with his family in a rented house behind Suritola School in Old Dhaka. He ran a fabrics business and was the father of three sons and one daughter.

According to relatives, he had gone out to buy meat with his youngest son when the incident occurred.

Another individual killed in Dhaka was Maksud, a security guard at an under-construction building in Modinabag, Mugda. He died when the building’s railing fell.

According to the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) and various hospital sources, more than six hundred people were injured across the country, including Dhaka. They were treated at different hospitals within and outside Dhaka.

Dhaka Medical College Hospital treated 44 injured persons; Sir Salimullah Medical College Hospital treated 20; the National Institute of Traumatology and Orthopaedic Rehabilitation (NITOR/Pangu Hospital) treated 99; Tajuddin Ahmad Medical College Hospital in Gazipur treated 90; Sreepur Upazila Health Complex treated 155; Shaheed Ahsanullah Master General Hospital in Tongi treated 85; Narsingdi District Hospital treated 45; Narsingdi 100-bed Hospital treated 10 and two hospitals in Cumilla treated 80 individuals.

Moinul Ahsan, director (Hospitals and Clinics), DGHS, told Prothom Alo that many of those injured had jumped in panic. Emergency medical teams are treating the injured. The government is working to ensure the supply of all necessary medicines. The ministry of health and the DGHS are closely monitoring the situation.

Tanzir Hossain, a student of Haji Muhammad Mohsin Hall at Dhaka University, was seriously injured after jumping from the fourth floor. Two other students of the same hall were also injured after jumping from the roof.

A student of Muktijoddha Ziaur Rahman Hall was similarly injured; his leg has been fractured. Several students from Jasimuddin Hall, Surya Sen Hall, Fazlul Huq Muslim Hall, and Dr Muhammad Shahidullah Hall were injured either by jumping or while running downstairs in panic.

Parts of the plaster of Mohsin Hall and several other university buildings fell during the earthquake.

Helal Uddin, a student of Mohsin Hall, wrote on Facebook that he had been lying down when the earthquake struck. Because it lasted so long, he felt paralysed with fear and ran to the roof in confusion. He saw several people jump from the third and fourth floors and become injured. Some were taken to hospital by ambulance.

Another student of Dhaka University, Kareeb Chowdhury, wrote on Facebook that unless a major tragedy occurs, the university administration will not take action.

According to him, they do not take any initiative without loss of life. “Students live in dilapidated buildings while the authorities sleep comfortably in newly constructed ones. Eventually, like the Jagannath Hall tragedy, students will lose their lives and the administration will merely observe a day of mourning with the teachers.”

DUCSU general secretary, S M Farhad wrote on Facebook that plaster had fallen from portions of several buildings in five residential halls of Dhaka University due to the earthquake.

In two halls, parts of brick walls had broken and fallen. Seeing the condition of these dilapidated structures, students panicked; some were injured while jumping or while attempting to exit the buildings quickly. According to information received so far, five students have been injured. Several female students in the women’s halls also fainted.

The Fire service has provided various updates regarding casualties and structural damage caused by the earthquake in Dhaka and other parts of the country.

According to a press release, one person was injured when a brick fell from a building under construction in Khilgaon onto the roof of an adjacent two-storey building.

A fire broke out in a house on Road 5, Block F, Baridhara. Two units from the Baridhara fire station responded and began extinguishing the fire. However, the Fire Service could not confirm whether the fire was triggered by the earthquake.

The Fire Service also responded to reports in Swamibagh, Old Dhaka, where an eight-storey building had reportedly leaned onto another structure.

The Dhaka District Relief and Rehabilitation Office has documented 14 earthquake-damaged buildings in the capital. The affected buildings are located in: Malibagh Chowdhurypara, Armanitola, Swamibagh, Banani, Kalabagan, Bashundhara, Nadda, South Banasree, Mohammadpur, Khilgaon, Badda, Sipahibagh (Khilgaon), Madhubagh (Moghbazar), Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport area (one building).

In Islamabagh, Ward No. 5, Golakandail Union of Rupganj, a boundary wall collapsed on a house, killing a 10 month old child named Fatema. The child’s mother, Kulsum Begum, was also injured. Her husband, Abdul Haque, works in Dhaka. Kulsum lives in Islamabagh with her one son and one daughter.

In Gabtali, Chinishpur Union of Narsingdi Sadar, construction materials from the roof of a multi-storey building were dislodged by the earthquake and fell onto a single-storey structure below. Parts of the single-storey roof collapsed, injuring resident Delwar Hossain and his two children, Tasfia and Omar Faruk. Delwar and his son later died at Dhaka Medical College Hospital.

In West Para of Charsindur, under Palash Upazila in Narsingdi, a mud-walled house collapsed, killing Kazem Ali Bhuiyan.

In Nayapara of Kazirchar, Danga Union of Palash, Narsingdi, Nasir Uddin died of cardiac arrest during the earthquake.

In Sreepur, Gazipur, at least 155 workers were injured while rushing down the stairs of a factory building. They received treatment at Sreepur Upazila Health Complex.

As buildings began to shake, people fled homes, offices, factories and shops in panic. In the Export Processing Zone (EPZ) in Cumilla, panic spread among women garment workers, causing a stampede in which at least 80 workers were injured and treated at two hospitals.

In Mansurabad, Chattogram City, a six-storey building tilted. This structure had also tilted in a previous earthquake. The Chattogram Development Authority has now blacklisted the building.

Several students of Jahangirnagar University reported that during the earthquake, the floor of the ninth storey of the newly constructed Shaheed Tajuddin Ahmad Hall developed cracks.

Cracks also appeared in the washroom of the sixth floor (Block B) and on the seventh-floor corridor of the Kazi Nazrul Islam Hall. The newly built Fazilatunnesa Hall also developed cracks.

Sifatullah, vice-president of the Shaheed Tajuddin Ahmad Hall Students’ Union, stated, “Since the construction of the new halls, there have been allegations of various irregularities. Rooms become flooded when it rains and tiles come loose during storms. Today (Friday), cracks appeared during the earthquake. The older halls do not show such issues, but the new ones have. We believe these problems stem from irregularities and corruption during construction.”

Rakibul Islam, vice-president of the Kazi Nazrul Islam Hall Students Union said, “Within just a year and a half of completion, multiple construction flaws have become visible in a hall built at huge public expense. While the older halls have remained stable in this earthquake, the newly built ones have developed problems. These issues clearly reflect the corruption within the project office and the lack of commitment within the administration. Immediate measures must be taken before a major disaster occurs.”

Professor Lutful Elahi, provost of Shaheed Tajuddin Ahmad Hall stated, “Cracks have appeared in the plaster of the ninth floor corridor. The materials used in construction may not have been of proper quality. I have shared a video of the cracks in the provost committee group.”

Fresh cracks appeared in the walls of the Sher-e-Bangla Fazlul Haq Hall at Rajshahi University following the earthquake, causing panic among students. They later staged protests demanding safety and relocation to another hall.

Around 11:00 am, students gathered at the main entrance of the hall and began demonstrating. They then marched to the vice-chancellor’s residence and staged a sit-in. The pro vice-chancellor, professor Main Uddin and the Proctor, professor Mahbubur Rahman, met the students and inspected the hall.

RUCSU vice-president Mostakur Rahman, AGS S M Salman Sabbir and several other student representatives also visited the hall.

Students alleged that the residential hall is very old and that plaster has been falling from the ceiling in several areas. After the earthquake, part of the western block reportedly leaned and cracks appeared at multiple points.

They accused the administration of hiding behind bureaucratic excuses instead of taking action. The students demanded immediate relocation to another hall.