Zakir Hossain from Dhaka
At least six people, including a newborn and a medical student, were killed and more than 200 injured after a 5.7-magnitude earthquake jolted Dhaka and several districts of Bangladesh on Friday morning. The Bangladesh Meteorological Department (BMD) said the quake struck at 10:38am with its epicentre at Madhabdi in Narsingdi, around 13km from Dhaka, while the USGS measured it at 5.5.
Earthquake expert Humayun Akhtar said the shaking was “the strongest in recent memory”.
Old Dhaka’s Armanitola saw the highest casualties as three pedestrians were crushed when a railing, scaffolding and debris from a five-storey building collapsed. Two victims, Rafiul Islam, 21, and Sabuj, 30, were identified. “One person remains in critical condition,” said Lalbagh Division police DC Mallik Ahsan Uddin Sami.
In Rupganj, Narayanganj, a newborn girl, Fatema, died when a roadside wall collapsed on her mother Kulsum Begum and neighbour Jasmine.
In Narsingdi, two people died after bricks fell from an under-construction building in Gabtoli and the mud walls of a house collapsed. Local journalist Ayub Khan Sarkar said six members of one family were injured, with one victim, Omar Mia, dying later in Dhaka.
Over 200 garment workers were injured in Gazipur’s Tongi and Sreepur areas after panic-stricken workers were trapped inside factories where exits were locked, triggering stampedes.
The Fire Service responded to reports of building tilts, collapses and fires across Dhaka: plaster fell from an eight-storey building in Armanitola, a leaning structure was inspected in Swamibagh, a seven-storey building in Kalabagan was found safe, and fires were reported in Baridhara and Gazaria. A building on Badda Link Road also tilted.
Residents in Dhaka, Barishal, Bogura, Rajshahi, Magura, Netrokona and Noakhali reported violent shaking. “Our two-storey house shook several times,” said Taslima Begum of Gournadi. “The pot of boiling milk fell off,” said Kamrun Nahar Jui from Khilkhet. In Kallyanpur, Abu Sufian Fahim said, “Allah saved us… our building swayed noticeably.”
Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus expressed shock, offered condolences, and directed agencies to intensify rescue operations, saying the government was “closely monitoring the situation” and urging citizens to face the crisis “with patience and courage”.
The tremor renewed concern about the active Madhupur Fault, which a 2024 Rajuk (Bangladeshi public agency responsible for coordinating urban development in Dhaka) study warns could cause the collapse or major damage of up to 65% of buildings in Dhaka in a stronger quake.