India quake kills 40

2005-10-10 13:06

Srinagar, India - A powerful earthquake measuring at least 7.6 on the Richter scale left 24 civilians and 16 soldiers dead in Indian Kashmir on Saturday and put more than 300 people in hospital, authorities said.

"The soldiers died along the Line of Control (LoC)," army spokesperson P Sehgal said, referring to the de facto border dividing Kashmir between India and Pakistan.

He said some of the army's forward posts caved in, while others were hit by falling trees and landslides. "There can be more casualties," he added.

Thousands of army soldiers man the LoC to prevent Muslim rebels from entering Indian Kashmir from the Pakistani zone of the divided state.

One of the civilian victims was an eight-month old Muslim boy who was buried when a wall of a house collapsed in Srinagar, residents said.

"Seven more people have died elsewhere in Srinagar and other parts of the state," a police spokesperson said.

Doctors at Srinagar's main hospital said more than 200 people were admitted with injuries and shock after the quake rattled the revolt-hit region.

Police reported more than 100 houses and buildings were damaged in the initial jolt, and roads to northern border areas were blocked by landslides triggered by the tremors.

People in multi-storey buildings were evacuated as a series of aftershocks hit the capital city and other parts of the state.

The tremor also brought down part of state-owned television's main transmitter tower positioned on a hill overlooking in Srinagar.

Many residents took shelter in mosques and shrines and started praying for forgiveness.

India's Meteorological Department registered the tremor, which had its epicentre over the de facto border in Pakistan-held Kashmir, at 7.4 on the Richter scale while the US Geological Survey said it registered the quake at 7.6.

A tremor of magnitude seven Richter is a major earthquake capable of widespread heavy damage.

- AFP