Indian capital shook by earthquake

A 5.2-magnitude earthquake shook the Indian capital today as it hit the state of Haryana just outside New Delhi, the US Geological Survey said.

The quake at 1.11pm local time (7.41am Irish Time) caused more than 10 seconds of tremors in and around the Indian capital.

People ran into the streets after feeling the tremors but there were no immediate reports of damage or injury in the city with a population of 16.7 million.

The Indian Meteorological Department said the epicentre of the quake was in Bahadurgarh, a town on the border between New Delhi and Haryana, which sits to the north-east of the capital.

The department’s head of seismology, RS Dattatrayam, said he did not expect significant aftershocks because of the low magnitude of the earthquake.

New Delhi sits near two faults and just two weeks ago underwent its first citywide earthquake drill to prepare civil servants and hospital services for emergencies.