November 08, 2007	Thursday	Shawwal 26, 1428

CHITTAGONG: An earthquake with a magnitude of at least 5.2 jolted Bangladesh’s main port city Chittagong on Wednesday, causing panic and some damage but no casualties, officials and witnesses said.

Tens of thousands of people rushed out into the streets when the quake hit the city, home to five million people, at around 1:10 pm (0710 GMT).

Police and fire officials said a supermarket collapsed immediately after the quake, but there were no immediate reports of casualties.

“I was in my office on the sixth floor. Suddenly, the whole building started to shake and I fell onto the floor,” said Hamid Hussain, who lives in the city’s Nasirabad area.

The Seismic Observatory in Dhaka said the quake measured a hefty 6.0 in the Richter scale, putting its epicentre 67 kilometres south-east of Chittagong, the country’s second-largest city.

—AFP