The impact of the quake was so powerful that several buildings developed cracks in Gangtok and Darjeeling and window panes were shattered as thousands of people ran out to the streets in panic.
Two buildings of the Indo Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) collapsed in Pegong area though there was no immediate report of any casualty. Over 100 people were seriously injured and severe damage to residential buildings and roads were caused, leaving the state in a state of shock.
The epicentre of the quake - which hit at 6.10 pm - was located at a depth of 10 kilometres at Mangan and Sakyong areas, over 50 km from Gangtok on Sikkim-Nepal border. Three aftershocks of 5.7, 5.3 and 4.6 magnitude on the Richter scale were also felt in the region within an hour of the first quake.
Sikkim Chief Secretary Karma Gyatso described it as “a massive earthquake”.
Immediately after the quake, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh spoke to Sikkim Chief Minister Pawan Kumar Chamling and offered him all necessary help.
The Prime Minister is himself monitoring the relief and rescue operations in the quake-affected region.
Initial reports claimed that at least seven persons were killed in Sikkim -- two at Singtham in East district, two in Rishi in West district and one at Mangan in North district, Chief Secretary Karma Gyatso told repoters.
Two army jawans were killed in north Sikkim area and three army vehicles including one with army personnel were reported missing, army officials said in Delhi.
In neighbouring West Bengal four deaths were reported -- three in Darjeeling district and one in Jalpaiguri district, Chief Secretary Samar Ghosh said.
Of the deaths in Darjeeling district, one each occurred in Kalimpong, Kurseong and Siliguri sub-divisions, Ghosh said.
In Bihar, two persons were killed in Nalanda and Darbhanga districts, official sources said.
A five-year-old girl and a youth were the two victims, they said.
At least five people were killed in Nepal, three of them outside the British Embassy in Kathmandu, when a high brick-wall collapsed.
Relief and rescue operations
The relief and rescue operations to help those affected in the earthquake-hit region are in full swing. Four teams of National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) have arrived in Bagdogra are trying to reach Sikkim at the earliest.
Five more teams of NDRF are also being sent from Kolkata, Cabinet Secretary Ajit Kumar Seth told reporters after a meeting of top officials in Delhi convened on the direction of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.
Efforts are being taken to revive the snapped communication links as several mobile towers have been damaged in Sikkim. The massive earthquake yesterday plunged Gangtok and several other areas into darkness due to power failures.
Heavy rains and darkness hampered relief operations in the night. Landslides caused by the quake and rains blocked several roads in many parts of the state.
Army columns in small teams were deployed in rescue mission across Sikkim. The columns comprised medical teams with first aid, engineer detachments and relief and rescue units.
A team of specialist doctors has also been rushed to Sikkim from Delhi.
Army units have also been mobilised and field hospitals have been activated in Sikkim, he said. The Border Roads Organisation (BRO) has also been mobilised for restoring normal traffic on NH-31A which connects Sikkim with rest of the country.
Meanwhile, the Indian Air Force has rushed five cargo planes to the Northeast with relief material and personnel. These include two C-130 J planes and two AN-32 aircraft. An Avro-1 plane was also scheduled to arrive from Delhi with relief material.
Tremors in northern and eastern India
The tremors were also felt in Assam, parts of West Bengal, Jharkhand, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan and Delhi.
Reports said few houses collapsed in Bihar’s Katihar and capital Patna.
In Assam, one woman was injured in Dhubri district on Assam-Bengal border, buildings developed cracks in various parts of the state and electric poles fell. Official sources in Guwahati the woman was injured when a wall of her house collapsed.
As buildings shook, people rushed out of their houses and took refuge in open places.
In the national capital, the tremor was felt in certain parts -- the second such experience within a fortnight after Delhiites were jolted around midnight on September 7 by an earthquake of 4.3 magnitude.
Delhi's suburb Gurgaon and some other parts of the National Capital Region experienced very mild tremor.
Power supply was disrupted in parts of northern West Bengal, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said in Kolkata. Seismologists consider India’s Northeast to be the sixth most earthquake-prone belt in the world.
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