Rohingya News Agency - KPN

6.8-strong a pre-dawn moderate earthquake originating in the Indian state of Manipur has shaken Bangladesh, northeast India, and Myanmar on January 4 at 5:05 am (Bangladesh standard Time)- making sleeping people jump out of their bed and rush out of their home, according United News of Bangladesh (UNB).

“I woke my father and mother up and rushed down the stairs with them. It was strong,” said Susmita Shahreen, a resident of Bashundhara Residential Area, to the reporters that she woke up to the jolts.

Hundreds of Dhaka City residents rushed out on the streets after feeling the tremors.

The tremor shock spilled out on the streets in Sylhet as well. It caused people to run screaming for open ground, seeking divine intervention for their safety.

“We rushed out and saw the people were frightened and screaming crazily,” said Anindita Das at Subidbazar.

Md Wahiduzzaman of Mirzajangal, Bangladesh happened not to be in bed. He said the earthquake flipped him off the couch like a coin.

Rajib Das, a resident of Machhudighir Par in the northeastern city, had been having trouble sleeping and was watching TV when he felt something akin to "a giant hand reaching down and shaking me."

Its epicentre lay 29 kilometres west of Imphal, India and 352 kilometers east-northeast of Dhaka, according to the US Geological Survey (USGS) said. “It was 55 kilometres deep, was initially reported to have struck inside Myanmar as a magnitude-6.8 quake and jolts were felt all the way up to Kolkata and Shiliguri.”

An official at Myanmar's Meteorological Department in Naypyidaw said there were no reports of damage or casualties on the Myanmar side of the border.

Houses, especially high-rise buildings, swayed even as far as Kolkata and the earthquake rocked the entire northeast India, according to BDnews24.com, online news of Bangladesh.

India Meteorological Department (IMD) says the quake was felt in most parts of the northeast region and neighbouring Myanmar and Bangladesh. The tremor lasted for about four to five seconds.

The tremor cracked walls and a newly-built six-storey building in Imphal collapsed. Other buildings were also reported to have been damaged. As well as six people killed, more than were 30 injured in Manipur, the Press Trust of India news agency(PTI) reported.

In the neighbouring Bangladesh, three people were reported dead while dozens were being treated in hospital for injuries sustained during the quake, the PTI said.

In Dhaka, Rajshahi and Lalmonirhat, three people died of panic attack.  A six-storey building in Dhaka leant towards one of the sides and the residents were removed to safety, and crack developed in two more buildings Dhaka, the fire service and civil control room of Dhaka said.

In Sylhet, at least 34 people, including four of a family, were admitted to MAG Osmani Medical College Hospital

A 23-year-old man died when he suffered a stroke after the quake while two others died of heart attacks, news agency AFP quoted police as saying.

A university student, who jumped from a fourth-floor balcony to escape, was among the critically wounded, the agency added.