Bogota, Aug 19: The death toll from the recent magnitude 7.4 earthquake in Colombia has risen to 312, with 4,611 people injured and 290 missing, according to the local authorities.

The National Unit for Disaster Risk Management reported that the quake had affected 470 municipalities in 15 departments, adding that 277 buildings had collapsed, while close to 30,000 homes were destroyed and over 134,000 others damaged.

National and international search-and-rescue teams continued combing through the rubble to locate the missing people, with 358 people reportedly rescued so far.

Colombia’s Foreign Ministry said more than 220 tonnes of humanitarian aid had arrived in the country and 144 international specialists had joined emergency response efforts, Xinhua news agency reported.

Many affected residents remained in temporary shelters and tents in parks in the hardest-hit areas of Valle del Cauca, Risaralda and Choco.

Last week, India sent the first tranche of 20 metric tonnes of relief supplies to Colombia to support recovery efforts following the devastating earthquake that had rocked the country.

External Affairs Minister (EAM) S Jaishankar had expressed India’s solidarity with the people of Colombia during these difficult times.

“Dispatched the first tranche of the 20 MT relief supplies to Colombia to support ongoing post-earthquake recovery efforts. The assistance includes medicines and medical equipment, temporary shelter and hygiene support, and other essential items needed in the aftermath of the disaster. India stands in solidarity with the people of Colombia during these difficult times,” EAM Jaishankar posted on X.

The assistance underscores India’s role as a first responder during global natural disasters. India sent the assistance after an earthquake of magnitude 7.3 struck Colombia on August 10, killing hundreds of people and injuring nearly four thousand with many missing.

The earthquake had struck Western Colombia at 7:34 am (local time), according to the Colombian Geological Service. The epicentre of the earthquake was near San Jose del Palmar and occurred at a depth of 96 kilometres.

As many as 44,936 families and 102,105 people in 15 departments and 426 municipalities have been impacted by the earthquake in Colombia, the National Unit for Disaster Risk Management said. It further stated that 10,677 homes had been destroyed while 65,841 others have been damaged by the earthquake.

Kolkata, Aug 19: Kolkata Police, on Wednesday, announced the formation of a five-member Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe the fire incident at a hotel on Mirza Ghalib Street in central Kolkata, which claimed nine lives, including two women and a child.

Informing the media persons, Joint Commissioner (Crime) of Kolkata Police Kunal Agarwal said the SIT will be headed by a Deputy Commissioner-rank officer, who is currently attached to the detective department of the city police.

Already, the local New Market Police station, under whose jurisdiction the said hotel building comes, has registered a suo motu case in the matter. A separate complaint had also been launched in the matter by the state fire services department.

The police, however, have not yet disclosed the identity of the nine persons killed in the fire incident.

Mirza Ghalib Street area has several cheap hotels, accommodating people coming as tourists from other states and even other countries. Since a major section of those staying in these hotels are from neighbouring Bangladesh coming to Kolkata for medical tourism, there is a possibility that Bangladeshis may be among those nine persons who have been killed in the fire.

State Municipal Affairs and Urban Development Minister Agnimitra Paul, who visited the spot of the fire, blamed the previous Trinamool Congress regime and the private power generation-cum-distribution entity, CESC Limited, for the mishap.

“How could the fire services department give permission to run the hotel without a minimum fire safety arrangement in place? How could CESC Limited give electricity connection? What were the Kolkata Municipal Corporation Authorities doing? All of them should be accounted for,” said Paul.

She also questioned how multiple hotels and guest houses were operating from a single building. “Many rooms were fitted with AC machines? How could CESC Limited permit that? How could the previous Trinamool Congress-run board in KMC grant them the trade license? All these factors will be looked into,” said Paul.

Meanwhile, the owner of the building as well as the owners of the hotels and guest houses run from that building have remained incommunicado since the fire broke out early this morning.

The building caretakers and the staff of the hotels and guest houses there have claimed that the respective owners have either switched off their mobiles or were not answering their calls since this morning.

Initial findings by the police and the West Bengal Fire Services Department have revealed that the nine people, including two women and a child, killed in the fire incident at the hotel this morning died of suffocation rather than burn injuries

Patna: A tragic incident occurred at Ranisarai Ganga Ghat in Patna’s Bakhtiyarpur block on Monday when seven girls from the same family got caught in the strong current while bathing in the Ganga Rive Three were rescued by locals, while four others went missing.

The incident occurred at around 7:30 a.m. According to local residents, the girls, who were cousins, had gone to the ghat to bathe. One of them reportedly moved into deeper water and began struggling. When the others attempted to help her, they too were caught in the strong current. People present at the ghat immediately launched a rescue effort. Several locals entered the river and managed to bring three girls to safety.

However, the remaining four were swept into deeper water and could not initially be located.

The missing girls have been identified as Aarti Kumari (21) and Nandani Kumari (16), daughters of Awadhesh Chandravanshi; Radhika Kumari (15), daughter of Kamlesh Chandravanshi; and Babli Kumari (6), daughter of Mantu Chandravanshi.

After being informed about the incident, police and administrative officials reached the spot.

An SDRF team was subsequently deployed to conduct a search operation in the river.

During the search, two bodies were recovered, while efforts to locate the remaining two girls are continuing.

The strong current and depth of the river are making the search operation difficult, with SDRF personnel searching different sections of the river.

As news of the incident spread, family members and villagers gathered at the ghat and demanded immediate deployment of an SDRF team.

Amid frustration over the reported delay in launching the search, villagers briefly blocked the road for around 20 minutes, disrupting traffic.

The blockade was later lifted after the rescue operation began.

A large number of relatives remain at the riverbank, anxiously waiting for updates as the SDRF continues its search.

The incident, involving several children and young women from the same family, has left the entire area deeply shaken.

The bodies have been sent to the Barh Subdivisional Hospital for the post-mortem.