Quake rescue teams scour Bhutan

(Sept.22, 2009): Rescue teams are scouring eastern Bhutan after at least 12 people were killed by an earthquake, which struck the Himalayan region. Thousands of people spent the night in the open after the quake damaged monasteries and destroyed homes. The 6.1 magnitude quake was also felt in northern India and Bangladesh. The epicentre was inside Bhutan's border with India, 180km east of the capital, Thimphu, the US Geological Survey said.
"Rescue teams are working overtime to assess the damage and look for people trapped or injured," said Ugyen Tenzing from Bhutan's disaster management department. He said rescuers were searching the rubble for survivors but landslides and boulders have blocked roads to remote, hilly regions in the east of the country, which was worst affected.
At least seven people died after buildings collapsed in the eastern districts of Munggar and
Trashi-gang, close to the epicentre of the quake. Three Indians died in Samdrup Jong-khar district, close to the Indian border, after the road they were working on collapsed. More than 200 Buddhist monks and 100 local officials were forced to flee an ancient monastery that also serves as a government office in Trashigang. Residents in Guwahati in the Indian state of Assam reported cracks appearing in several buildings, but no serious damage.