SRINAGAR: Several people, including two personnel of the Rashtriya Rifles (RR) were injured while bridges and houses were damaged after the tremors from the Hindu Kush quake rocked Kashmir valley this afternoon.
A woman identified as Zoona Begum died after suffering a massive heart attack soon after tremors while two RR personnel were injured when their bunker in apple township of Sopore collapsed, report said.
Windowpanes and glass doors were shattered at many places and people rushed out of houses, offices, educational institutions and shopping complexes in panic, after tremors of 7.5 magnitude quake were felt for over a minute at 1441 hrs this afternoon.
A bridge in north Kashmir district of Baramulla developed cracks and was closed for traffic. Several people were also injured in wall collapses in north Kashmir, bordering Pakistan Occupied Kashmir (POK).
A newly- constructed building at historic Lal Chowk near the Clock Tower also developed cracks. Several vehicles were damaged after a branch of a maple tree fell in Polo View. However, no one was injured.
Traffic on the busy Jehangir Chowk fly over was suspended for two hours after the tremors. It was not immediately clear whether the fly-over had developed cracks or traffic was suspended as precautionary measure.
Employees in the seven-storied civil secretariat, which houses the office of Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed, his cabinet colleagues and top bureaucrats, rushed out of their offices in panic after the quake. Employees remained in the compound and did not return to their offices for about an hour due to fear.
Communication network, particularly mobile phone, also came to halt, resulting in panic and confusion as people could not contact their near and dear ones. The mobile networks, including Bhart Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL), resumed after about two hours. A number of houses in the down town, civil lines and uptown developed cracks, particularly those rebuilt after September last year floods. (AGENCIES)
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