One person was killed and nearly sixty persons including 32 students were injured and hundreds of buildings damaged in the state when an earthquake of moderate intensity shook parts of North India today. Though the tremor was felt in the entire state but twin districts of Kishtwar and Doda in Jammu region were the hardest hit where nearly 400 structures, including schools, hospitals and houses, developed cracks. A mild earthquake measuring 5.8 on the Richter Scale rocked the state as tremors were in parts of north India, officials said, adding that the quake occurred at around 12.27 PM. The epicentre of the quake was located at latitude 33.1 degrees North and longitude 75.8 degrees East in Jammu and Kashmir, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) website said. Tremors were felt in parts of north India, including New Delhi, reports said. Panic struck all over the state with people running out the buildings to save their lives. The cellphone service in the entire state went out of service. Three school buildings got damaged in Doda, Gandoh and Bhaderwah wherein 7 students and two teachers sustained injuries. KTNS Kishtwar Kuldeep Sharma reported that in a major earthquake hundreds of buildings including schools and government offices developed several cracks. The people working and residing therein come out in open to save their lives. One person identified as Goswanu Ram son of Bishan Dass of Shandari of Block Drabshalla (Kishtwar) died when a stone fall upon him from the upper hills due to earthquake. The people were worried as aftershocks continued within few minutes after the major earthquake. They are apprehending that more aftershocks occurred in night hours and people are sleeping in open. The wall of Government Primary School Pootinag of Kishtwar Education zone, collapsed as a result of which 4 students and one teacher sustained injuries. One of seriously injured has been air lifted to GMC hospital Jammu. Other injured students were hospitalized in District Hospital Kishtwar. Similarly, the wall of Government Higher Secondary School Chatroo collapsed but fortunately no one injured as the students were not present in the room and are in open ground. The entire building of Kendriya Vidyalaya, Kishtwar was completely shaken up as the students were enjoying recess break in open ground but they were not allowed to re-enter in their respective class rooms even to bring our their bags. They were directed to leave the school premises and go to their respective houses. No report of further loss is reported till filing of this news. Officiating PRO Defence in Jammu said that Indian Air Force came to the rescue of earth quake victim in Kishtwar today when the IAF’s efforts were requisitioned by the civil administration of J&K Government to rescue one baby girl child who was blocked inside debris of collapsed building at Kishtwar due to sudden earth quake. One among all the injured who were sent to hospital by the civil administration, was having serious brain injury. The condition of the girl child, Muskan, who is just six years old and daughter of a labourer of Chhattisgarh was deteriorating continuously. To save the precious life of Muskan, IAF efforts were requisitioned at around 1530 hours to shift her into GMC Hospital, Jammu. KTNS Doda Saidullah Rangrez reported that at-least 46 persons were admitted to Sub District Hospital (SDH) Bhaderwah with injuries. Preliminary inquiries conducted by police revealed that 90 percent buildings mostly offices either suffered cracks or were partially damaged. In Doda, Bhaderwah, Kishtwar, Gandoh, Thathri & other townships of Doda region residents fled helter & shelter to save their lives. Some of them fainted while the parents of several students rushed to the hospital and some of them were seen running towards educational institutions to know the well being of their wards. The aftershocks continued till the evening. Immediately after the earthquake heads of the District administrations along with teams of officials rushed to Gandoh which is said to be the worst affected in Doda. Reports said that 90 percent residential house & official building in Gandoh area either suffered cracks or were partially damaged. In Bhaderwah & Gandoh tehsils more than 50 persons were reportedly injured. SP Bhaderwah Roop Lal Sharma said that initial reports revealed that about 40 persons mostly students of Bhaderwah were injured. They were provided treatment in open and 30 people were discharged after first aid while others are still undergoing treatment. Chain Singh a patient from Pasri Bhaderwah claimed that new hospital building in Bhaderwah also suffered damages due to which patients were shifted outside. Army personnel in Bhaderwah setup temporary medical checkup camps where people were being treated. In Higher Secondary School Gandoh Bhalessa about 7 students were injured who were admitted in Sub District Hospital Gandoh, 3 students got injured in Private School Amar Public School Dalmira Bhalessa. All the 3 students have been shifted to District Hospital Doda for treatment. As per the administrative reports total 26 persons have got minor or major injuries in Bhalessa Sub division. In village Kako residential house of Mushtaq Ahmed get collapsed, however no one was present in the house at that time. In village Neeli residential house of Abdul Rashid Zarger, Bashir Ahmed Zarger and Kewal Kumar Kotwal were completely damaged. In village Thaloran house of Abdul Satar Rather, Jalal Din Wani, Ghulam Qadir Wani, Saraj Din Sheikh and Ghulam Nabi Sheikh got major damage. In village Kilhotran the house of Sara Begum wife of Shah Hussain and Mukhtiyar Ahmed received the major damage. The schools of the area which got major damage are Higher Secondary School Gandoh, Government Girls Higher Secondary School Gowari, High School Chanti, Higher Secondary School Kilhotran, Higher Secondary School Inharrah, PS Khoie, MS Neeli, GHS Bharthi, HSS Chilly, HSS Jakyas, MS Goila, MS Ichair, HS Malath and MS Changa. Apart from these all the schools of the sub division Gandoh have developed the cracks of various natures. Keeping in view, the aftershocks the examination of BA Part-1 were conducted in the open sky. The students got Psychic and there were no reports from the University authorities about the postponement of the paper. Meantime, an emergency meeting of Educational Environmental Social Sports and Cultural Society Bhalessa (Doda) was held under the chairmanship of Mohammad Ayub Zarger to express the serious concern on the damage caused by the earthquake. He appealed the higher authorities to conduct the survey of the area to prepare the actual damage report and sanction the compensation in favour of victims of natural calamity. The people in Doda district were spending nights in open and they opted to sleep in the open compartments of forests and Nurseries in the district. DDC Doda informed that all educational institutions of education in Doda district will remain closed on May 2, keeping in view the apprehension of aftershocks of earthquake. KTNS Bhaderwah Swarn Singh Jamwal, however, reported that the epicenter of earthquake was 17 Kilometer Northeast of Bhaderwah to towards Himachal Pardesh. People rushed out from their houses. Students from Government and Private schools rushed out by leaving there school bags, books and lunch boxes in the classrooms. In Government Girls Higher Secondary School Bhaderwah 13 girls were injured when ceiling of the roof and stones of the walls broke down. The school building was declared unsafe for further classes and about 80 percent houses developed cracks in Bhaderwah tehsil. The offices buildings including that of PWD, PDD, BDA and PHE also suffered damage. Peoples remained in the open from 12:30 PM till night. All the injured were shifted to Sub District Hospital New building Dandi, Bhaderwah for treatment which also developed cracks. Walls of four rooms and ceiling of the 2nd floor collapsed due to which patients were brought out from the new building and CRPF provide tents for the patients in open place. Some of the injured were identified as Deepak Charak son Jaswant Singh Charak, Ranjeet son of Chur Singh, Nazir son of Badru Din, Tufajahan daughter of Mustaq Ahmed Butt, Rakesh Kotwal son of Basant Raj, Inspector Mehmood, Rajesh Kumar son of Jivan Lal, Jasbeena Begum wife of Javed Iqbal, Rubia Bano daughter Noor Mohammad, Nafiza Nusrat, 11, Atika Bano daughter of Mustaq Mohammad, Rashmi Devi daughter of Narinder Singh, Zubina Begum wife of Rehmtullah, Komal Manhas daughter of Yashpal, Asilshah Baz son of Muktiyar Ahmed, Zarin kousar wife of Shabir Mohammad, Rabia daughter of Rehmtullah, Anam daughter of Mohammad Iqbal. Official handout issued by University at Bhaderwah said that in view of the minor damage to the rented boys hostel building of Jammu University at Bhaderwah and the panic amongst students due to the earthquake in the Doda region, Vice-Chancellor has rushed team headed by Prof N K Tripathi, Dean Students Welfare and compromising of Prof J S Tara, Director, Poonch Campus, to Bhaderwah and Rajiv Gupta, AEE to take stock of the situation and make alternate arrangement for the comfortable stay of students on Campus . Vice-Chancellor also spoke to Prof MA Malik, Rector Bhaderwah Campus and directed him to make all possible lodging and food arrangements in the pre fabricated huts for the students till the buildings are declared safe for lodging. Rector, Bhaderwah also informed Vice-Chancellor that all students are hale and hearty. Anubhav Misri from Poonch reported that a moderate intensity earthquake shook Poonch and adjoining areas today but there was no report of any casualty. Official report said there was no report of any casualty or damage to property. The tremor, which lasted for a near about 5-7 seconds, caused panic among the people, many of whom were seen rushing out of buildings for safety hundreds of people assembled at Krishan Chander Park due to terror of Earthquake. Tanuj Puri a resident of Poonch said that the density of quake was so strong that it seems like the quake which took place on August 8, 2008 and afected 50 percent of Poonch town. “We immediately rushed to Krishan Chander Park to save our lives but with the grace of almighty nothing worst happened,” he added. Five to six aftershocks were experienced in the region measuring between 5.3 to 5.8 on the Richter scale. Tremors were also felt in Himachal Pradesh, Punjab and Haryana and in Himachal Pradesh, the earthquake lasted about 30 seconds and was felt across the state from tribal areas of Lahaul and Spiti to foothills of Una. A part of the state borders Kishtwar, Bhaderwah (epicentre of quake) areas of Jammu and Kashmir. On Tuesday also, a quake measuring 4.3 on the Richter scale was felt in Bhaderwah and adjoining areas of Doda district, Kishtwar and Poonch districts in Jammu province. Within a month, this was for the third time that the state was rocked by medium intensity quake Official handout issued by Divisional Commissioner Jammu said that Jammu region was today struck by an earthquake in forenoon about 12.30 hours leading to death of one person and injuries to fifty nine persons, while one of the critically injured has been airlifted to Government Medical College Hospital. As per preliminary reports received from concerned deputy commissioners, one person died and six others were injured in Kishtwar district. Among those injured in the district one person has been airlifted to GMCH Jammu for specialised treatment. In Doda district, about 45 persons were injured, including highest 27 in Gandoh, 6 in Thathri, 8 in Bhaderwah and 4 in Doda tehsils. Similarly eight persons have reportedly been injured in Ramban district. However, there were no reports of injury and damage in other districts of Jammu region. The tremor also caused damage to some private and government buildings in the affected areas. Divisional Commissioner, Jammu, who is supervising the relief and rescue operation, has dispatched twenty tents and 100 blankets to be provided to the people rendered houseless in the affected areas. The Divisional Commissioner, Jammu, has also directed all the District Development Commissioners (DDCs), especially to the most affected districts of Kishtwar, Doda and Ramban, to constitute Tehsil Level Officers teams to conduct detailed assessment of human loss and property, if any. The district administrations have also been asked to activate Civil Defence Organisation and Red Cross Volunteers to lend hand in relief and rescue operations. DDC have also been asked to accommodate the persons, if any rendered houseless be accommodated in Community Halls and other suitable government buildings. All the districts have been asked to furnish detailed reports by May 10 for grant of financial assistance under State Disaster Relief Fund (SDFR). Similar reports pour in from other districts including Ramban, Reasi, Rajouri, Poonch, Jammu, Udhampur, Samba and Kathua. Meanwhile, District Development Commissioner, Kathua said that keeping in view the apprehension of aftershocks of earthquake, all educational institutions of education zone Bani, Lohai-Malhar, Billawar, Mahanpur, Basohli and Bhaddu shall remain close on May 2. Minister for R&B Abdul Majid Wani who is union capital said that immediately after hearing about earthquake that took place today in various parts Minister for R&B Abdul Majid Wani issued directions to district administration, Doda, to take up necessary relief and rescue measures in all the affected areas of the district. Minister, who was in Delhi on an official tour, instructed the concerned agencies to gear up their men and machinery to clear the landslides in various parts of the district that occurred due to today’s earthquake and remain available in the field. The Minister directed the Deputy Commissioner Doda to constitute special teams for assessment of damages caused in the far-off and hilly areas of the district due to this natural calamity so that the affected people could be compensated accordingly. Wani asked the administration to ensure that the people affected due to this earthquake get compensation under Disaster Management Relief Fund. He also asked for extending required help to injured students and teachers of various educational institutions of the district through Red Cross Society.