India, Feb. 27 -- Strong tremors were felt across Kolkata and several districts of south Bengal on Friday afternoon after a 5.5-magnitude earthquake hit neighbouring Bangladesh, the National Centre for Seismology (NCS) said.

An IMD official said that the epicentre of the quake was at a place named Nayabazar in Bangladesh, around 100 km from Kolkata.

The strong tremors left people in panic, with residents gathering in open spaces and offices getting evacuated in the Bengal capital. Many residents said they were shocked as they had never experienced such strong tremors before.

Swagata, a Kolkata resident, said that the sofa and fan in their room were visibly shaking, after which they had to rush downstairs to open spaces.

"We were sitti...