Terror as new tremors strike Gujarat cities

Citizens of Ahmedabad and other towns and cities in the western Indian state of Gujarat were yesterday attempting to calm shattered nerves after another powerful earth tremor shook the region 13 days after the devastating quake that killed at least 20,000 people and left 150,000 injured.

Citizens of Ahmedabad and other towns and cities in the western Indian state of Gujarat were yesterday attempting to calm shattered nerves after another powerful earth tremor shook the region 13 days after the devastating quake that killed at least 20,000 people and left 150,000 injured.

A tremor registering 5.3 on the Richter scale rocked Ahmedabad late on Thursday night, sending terrified people out on to the streets. Local news agencies reported atleast 40 injured as panic-stricken people jumped from the balconies of their flats. There were no reports of buildings collapsing.

The tremor was also felt in Bhuj, the capital of the Kutch region, ruined in the quake of 26 January, and it was followed through on Thursday night and Friday morning by a series of smaller jolts. In all, 234 aftershocks measuring more than 3.0 on the Richter scale have been recorded in Kutch since the main earthquake.

With hope of finding more survivors almost extinguished, most rescue operations in the parts of Kutch devastated by the quake have been called off.