Four quakes in 24 hours keep Andaman tense

Port Blair, Jun 28 (UNI) Four quakes since the past 24 hours have spread panic in the remote Andaman and Nicobar islands.

Three strong tremors were reported in the Islands yesterday, while a moderate one was reported this morning, creating further panic.

While experts said the last three quakes were just aftershocks which followed the first strong quake of 6.7 on the Richter scale, islanders say the tremors reminded them of the devastating 2004 tsunami which was followed by a mega quake.

There were several reports of injuries.

According to the Health Department dozens of panic-stricken people were injured last evening while trying to run out of buildings during the quakes.

Two persons were injured while jumping down the Port Blair Airport building when the first quake occurred. One of them reportedly fractured his leg, an eyewitness told UNI today.

There were nearly ten cases where islanders complained of giddiness and vomiting, health department sources said.

The archipelago off the east coast of India was among the many areas devastated by the tsunami in the Indian Ocean which killed nearly 3800 people.

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