Search:



The Web

Rediff








 Latest News on mobile: sms NEWS to 7333

Home > News > PTI


'Some old buildings in Post Blair had collapsed'

December 26, 2004 18:16 IST

Passengers arriving from Port Blair on Sunday narrated a tale of devastation in the Andamans, hit by tremor and tidal waves.

They arrived at the N S C Bose International Airport in Kolkata by Indian Airlines flight IC-288, which was three hours behind schedule.

Shyamali Ganguly, an advocate based in Port Blair, said she was yet to recover from the shock.

"I was preparing to leave for the airport around 6.30 am when I felt the tremors. The entire house rattled and two bookshelves in my chamber came crashing down. Within no time, books and shards of glass were strewn all over the floor," she said.

She said that the road leading to the airport from her residence in the heart of Port Blair, had developed cracks for long stretches, while in some places, craters made motoring difficult. There were cracks in the airport building at Port Blair too.

M S Rao, a Coast Guard official, said the tremors were felt sporadically from 6.40 am till around 9.00 am. "I was in the Coast Guard mess when I felt the first tremor. My roommates and me ran out and saw chaos all around us. Some old buildings had collapsed. At the airport, we found hairline cracks on the runway."


More reports from Andaman and Nicobar

© Copyright 2004 PTI. All rights reserved. Republication or redistribution of PTI content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent.






Article Tools
Email this article
Top emailed links
Print this article
Write us a letter
Discuss this article





People Who Read This Also Read


Graph: Quake causes havoc

1,500 dead as tsunamis lash TN

Quake in eastern India, 1 dead







Copyright © 2004 rediff.com India Limited. All Rights Reserved.