At Least Five Dead as Earthquake Hits Bangladesh

A 5.5-magnitude earthquake struck Bangladesh on Friday, leaving at least five people dead, including one child, and injuring more than 450 others.

The quake’s epicentre was near Narsingdi district, roughly 30 kilometres from the capital, Dhaka. Residents reported shaking buildings, collapsing makeshift structures, and widespread panic as people fled to safety.

In Dhaka’s Armanitola area, three people were killed when a railing and debris fell from a five-storey building, according to Deputy Police Commissioner Mallik Ahsan Uddin Sami. Across the country, 461 injuries have been reported, with Gazipur district north of Dhaka accounting for 252 of the cases, said Nitai Chandra De Sarkar, director of the monitoring division of the department.

“The main priority now is to assess casualties and damage,” Sarker told the BBC. “At this stage, we are not seeing major challenges with rescue operations or debris management.”

Eyewitnesses described the quake as the strongest they had felt in years. Environmental adviser Syeda Rizwana Hasan said, “We have never experienced an earthquake this powerful in the last five years.”

Students and office workers recounted moments of chaos as buildings trembled. Abdullah, a student, told Reuters, “The whole building was shaking,” while Bengali Sadman Sakib described rushing outdoors, noting that “other people were already on the street.”

Tremors were also felt in eastern Indian states bordering Bangladesh, though no major damage was reported there.

The earthquake briefly interrupted Ireland’s second cricket Test in Bangladesh. Play was halted for three minutes as players and spectators sought shelter. Ireland’s head coach Heinrich Malan said, “It’s never a nice feeling. Everything stood still for a couple of minutes, but thankfully the situation stabilised, and we are thinking of everyone affected.”