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Friday, November 22, 2024  
20 Jumada Al-Awwal 1446  

Strong quake hits northeastern India; 9 dead

A strong earthquake shook northeastern India and Nepal on Sunday night, killing at least nine people, damaging buildings and sending lawmakers in Nepal's capital running into the streets.

The quake, with a preliminary magnitude of 6.9, was felt across northeast India including the capital of New Delhi. It triggered at least two aftershocks of magnitude 6.1 and 5.3, Indian seismology official R.S. Dattatreyan said. He warned more aftershocks were possible.

At least four people in India's Sikkim state were killed and an unspecified number of people were injured, state police Chief Jasbir Singh told The Associated Press. Nepal's government said five people died and dozens were hurt there.

The full extent of damage was not immediately known because the region is sparsely populated with many living in remote areas which were cut off by mudslides triggered by the quake, Singh said.