10 killed, hundreds injured and buildings damaged as 5.7-magnitude quake rattles Bangladesh
5 killed in Narsingdi, where the quake’s epicentre was located
At least 10 people, including a newborn, were killed and hundreds others injured after a powerful 5.7-magnitude earthquake jolted Bangladesh this morning (21 November), damaging multiple buildings in Dhaka and other districts, according to officials.
The Bangladesh Meteorological Department (BMD) said the quake struck at 10:38am, with its epicentre located in Madhabdi, Narsingdi, about 13km east of the seismic centre in Dhaka's Agargaon.
The United States Geological Survey (USGS) put the magnitude of the quake at 5.5 on the Richter scale, placing the epicentre 14km west-southwest of Narsingdi.
Across Dhaka and several other districts, many people rushed out of their homes in panic as the ground shook for several seconds.
Reports of minor cracks appearing in some buildings have also been received from several areas.
The earthquake also caused a building to tilt in the Badda Link Road area.
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At Jahangirnagar University, the earthquake caused structural cracks in multiple buildings, including the newly constructed Shaheed Tajuddin Ahmad Hall, where visible cracks appeared on one floor.
JU Proctor Prof AKM Rashidul Alam confirmed that no injuries or serious incidents occurred on campus.
Narsingdi sees five deaths
At least five people died and more than 100 were injured in Narsingdi, according to the district administration.
The deceased were identified as Hafez Omar, 8; Delowar Hossain Ujjal, 37; Kaziem Ali Bhuiyan, 75; Nasir Uddin, 60; and Forkan, 40.
According to a press release issued by the Narsingdi district administration, at Chinishpur union's Gabtali area in Narsingdi Sadar upazila, construction materials fell from an under-construction building during the tremor, leaving four people injured. Two of them — Omar and his father, Delowar — were critically injured and taken to Dhaka Medical College Hospital.
Doctors at DMCH later declared 8-year-old Omar dead. His father was declared dead soon after, Prothom Alo reported, citing family members.
In Palash upazila's Malita Pashchimpara village under Char Sindur union, Kaziem Ali Bhuiyan was crushed under the debris of his earthen house and died on the way to the district hospital, said the district administration.
In the same upazila, Nasir Uddin of Islampara Nayapara village in Danga union died after he panicked during the quake while working in agricultural fields. Quoting locals, the district administration said he fell from a road embankment while running for safety.
Meanwhile, in Shibpur upazila, Forkan of Gajkitla (Purbapara) village fell from a tree during the tremor. He was taken to Narsingdi District Hospital and later referred to Dhaka Medical College, but died on the way.
Man killed as railing collapses during quake in Dhaka's Mugda
A man was killed after a railing from an under-construction building collapsed on him during the earthquake this morning (21 November) in the Modinabag area in the capital's Mugda.
The deceased has been identified as Maksud, 50, a security guard who hailed from Charshita village in Ramgati upazila of Lakshmipur.
The incident occurred around 10:45am at Miaji Goli area in Modinabag.
Confirming the matter to The Business Standard, Mugda Police Station Officer-in-Charge (OC) Sajedur Rahman said, "Maksud was attempting to exit the building in fear as the quake struck when a railing from the upper floors gave way and fell directly on his head, leaving him critically injured."
"Locals rushed him to the emergency department of Mugda Medical College and Hospital, where doctors declared him dead around 11:45am," the OC added.
Three dead in Old Dhaka
In Old Dhaka's Armanitola Koshaituli area, three pedestrians were crushed to death when a railing, bamboo scaffolding and debris from a five-storey building collapsed during the tremor.
Another person remains in critical condition, Mallik Ahsan Uddin Sami, deputy commissioner of the Lalbagh Division of the Dhaka Metropolitan Police, told TBS.
Two of the dead have been identified as Rafiul Islam, 21, and Sabuj, 30. Rafiul was a student of the 52nd batch of Sir Salimullah Medical College.
Rafiul had gone to the market with his mother to buy meat and was standing in front of a meat shop in Koshaituli when the quake struck. The railing of the building collapsed on them.
Locals rescued the injured and took them to the hospital, where doctors declared Rafiul dead. His mother was later taken into surgery.
Newborn killed as wall collapses in Rupganj
In Narayanganj's Rupganj, a newborn girl named Fatema was killed when a roadside wall collapsed during the quake.
Her mother, Kulsum Begum, and a neighbour, Jasmine, were injured.
Locals said the three were on their way to Bhulta Gausia when the roadside wall suddenly collapsed, burying them underneath. The baby died at the scene, while others were rescued and taken to a private hospital.
Elsewhere in the district, 24 people received primary treatment at various hospitals following minor injuries from the earthquake, according to the Chief Adviser's Press Wing.
Nitor treats over 80 injured after earthquake jolts Dhaka
The National Institute of Traumatology and Orthopaedic Rehabilitation (Nitor) reported a sharp rise in patients following this morning's earthquake, with 66 people receiving treatment and 15 others being admitted by mid-afternoon.
The information came at a briefing by Nitor Director Prof Abul Kenan at 3:15pm today, where he also said that the injured had arrived steadily since the tremor struck earlier in the morning.
However, doctors and nurses at the emergency department said the rush intensified shortly after the briefing.
By 4:15pm, nearly one hundred injured people had been treated for fractures, cuts and fall-related injuries linked to the quake, according to Nitor officials.
Locked gates trap hundreds in Gazipur factories
Over 200 garment workers in Gazipur were injured after the earthquake struck Bangladesh this morning.
The mass panic was compounded by what workers described as the callous negligence of factory management, who had locked the emergency and main exit gates, effectively trapping the entire workforce.
The sequence of events unfolded at approximately 10:40am at two factory complexes: Fashion Pulse Limited in Tongi's BSCIC area and DeniMac Factory in Sreepur municipality.
In both locations, the brief but violent tremor sent a sudden, crushing wave of terror through the multi-storey buildings, but the workers' desperate attempt to flee to safety was immediately thwarted by locked exits.
Reports of damage and fire service action
The fire service received a report of a building at the office of the chief adviser being damaged. A fire service unit inspected the site and found no damage.
The agency also received reports of an eight-storey building collapsing in Armanitola. Two firefighting units from Sadarghat and Siddikbazar fire stations rushed to the scene but found no structural damage.
Some plaster and a few loose bricks had fallen off. Fire service personnel confirmed there were no casualties.
In Khilgaon, a brick fell from an under-construction building onto a nearby two-storey house, injuring one person. Local residents took the injured for treatment. The fire service said it did not need to take any action.
Meanwhile, a fire was reported at a house in Baridhara. Two units from the Baridhara station were working to extinguish the blaze at the time of reporting, but it is not yet known whether the fire was caused by the quake.
In Sutrapur's Swamibagh area, an eight-storey building was reported to have leaned onto an adjacent building, prompting the fire service to deploy a unit from the local fire station to the scene.
A seven-storey building on Abedkhali Road in Kalabagan was reported to be tilting. One unit from the Mohammadpur station went to the location, but found the building to be intact. The fire service said frightened residents had made the call.
A fire broke out at a house in Gajaria, Munshiganj. Two units from the local fire station were dispatched, but it is unclear if the quake caused the blaze.
Accounts from across the country
Taslima Begum from Gournadi in Barishal said, "Our two-storey house shook violently several times. I was sitting on the bed, and it felt like somebody was pushing it."
Kamrun Nahar Jui, who lives on the eighth floor of a building in Dhaka's Khilkhet, said, "There was milk boiling on the stove, and the pot fell off. I have never been this scared."
Like in many other areas of the country, residents rushed out of their homes in panic in Dhaka's Kallyanpur.
One of them, Abu Sufian Fahim, said, "Allah saved us. A little more shaking and the cupboard in my room would have toppled over.
"The tremor lasted a few seconds, and our five-storey building swayed noticeably."
People from Bogura, Magura, Rajshahi, Netrokona and Noakhali also reported that the quake shook their areas.
Fault lines
The Madhupur fault is the most earthquake-prone seismic zone in Bangladesh, located within the Madhupur Garh region. It is one of the country's most active faults.
Stretching approximately 100km, it affects parts of Tangail, Gazipur and Dhaka.
According to a 2024 study by Rajdhani Unnayan Kartripakkha (Rajuk), if a 6.9-magnitude earthquake were to strike the Madhupur fault in Tangail, between 864,619 and 1,391,685 buildings in Dhaka would collapse or suffer major structural failure, accounting for 40.28% to 64.83% of all buildings in the capital.
Additionally, if a 7.1-magnitude earthquake were to occur along the Sylhet lineament, between 40,935 and 314,742 buildings in Dhaka would be damaged, representing 1.91% to 14.66% of the total number of buildings.
