Jalpaiguri: Ceiling cracks in SDO  office, 2 women escape unhurt

Jalpaiguri: Tremors were felt in Jalpaiguri and nearby areas after a 7.1 magnitude earthquake struck the mountainous Tibet region early Tuesday morning.

The quake, which hit Tibet’s holy Shigatse city around 6:35 am, had a depth of 10 kilometres, according to data from the US Geological Survey. According to Tibetan authorities, at least 95 died while 130 others were injured in the earthquake.

In Jalpaiguri, a crack developed in the ceiling of the ‘Bangla Sahayata Kendra’ at the Jalpaiguri Sadar Sub Divisional Officer’s (SDO) office.

Initially, it went unnoticed but at around 2:30 pm, chunks of concrete started falling from the ceiling. At the time of the incident, two women were working at the counter directly beneath the damaged ceiling. Miraculously, the women escaped unhurt.

Sushma Das, one of the women present, said: “The concrete chunks fell suddenly. I narrowly escaped.”

Jalpaiguri Sadar Sub-Divisional Officer (SDO) Tamojit Chakraborty said: “Initially, we thought the crack was a result of the morning’s earthquake and we anticipated the crack to hold.

Now that debris is falling, I have instructed the Public Works department to repair it urgently.”