At least five people, including a child, were killed and more than 450 others injured Friday after a 5.5 magnitude earthquake rattled Bangladesh, sending residents fleeing into the streets and causing structural collapses across several districts.
The quake struck near the Narsingdi district, roughly 30 kilometers from the capital, Dhaka. Buildings shook throughout the city, and makeshift structures gave way as residents rushed out of homes, offices and dormitories. At Dhaka University, at least 10 students were hurt in a stampede as they tried to escape shaking buildings.
Syeda Rizwana Hasan, an environmental adviser to the government, said the country had not experienced an earthquake of similar strength in the past five years. Authorities confirmed that three of the deaths occurred in Dhaka’s Armanitola neighborhood after a railing and debris fell from a five-story building, according to deputy police commissioner Mallik Ahsan Uddin Sami.
Nitai Chandra De Sarkar, director of the monitoring division for the disaster management department, said 461 injuries had been reported nationwide. Gazipur district, north of the capital, accounted for 252 of those injuries. Sarkar said authorities are focused on assessing casualties and damage and have not yet encountered widespread rescue operations involving collapsed structures.
Residents described intense shaking that jolted buildings throughout Dhaka. Bengali Sadman Sakib told Reuters he had never felt a tremor like it in his 30 years and said office furniture rattled before workers ran into the street. A student named Abdullah said he woke to his “whole building shaking.”
Tremors were also felt across eastern Indian states bordering Bangladesh, though no major damage was reported there.
The earthquake briefly halted Ireland’s second cricket test match in Bangladesh. Coaches and players stepped away to the boundary, while spectators sought shelter in the stands. Play stopped for about three minutes before resuming. Ireland head coach Heinrich Malan said the shaking brought back memories of earthquakes he experienced in New Zealand and added that the team was thinking of those affected in Bangladesh as assessments continued.
