Close to the border with Myanmar, in northwest eastern India, a powerful earthquake measuring 6.7 in magnitude, had hit this morning, the US Geological Survey (USGS) has reported.

As per the reports, the earthquake had hit northeastern India today morning at around 4:36 am. The quake was 55 kilometers (34 miles) deep and centered 29 kilometers west of Imphal, the capital city of the Manipur state. However, the USGS later revised the quake’s magnitude down from 6.8 to 6.7.

Due to the intense of the earthquake, six people lost their lives in Manipur, while at least four people have been killed in Imphal and another 100 injured by falling debris, the reports say.

There is large scale damage in Imphal with many houses reporting huge cracks. Walls of many building have also collapsed.

The epicentre was in Tamenglong district, in Manipur and state government officials said the epicentre was at Noney village in Tamenglong around 35 kms from Imphal, as per the Indian Meteorological department.

Principal Secretary Suresh Babu said that, the government is assessing the situation and providing all help to the victims.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi tweeted that an NDRF team has been instructed to move from Guwahati to the areas affected by the earthquake. "Spoke to Rajnath ji, who is in Assam, on the situation arising due to the earthquake & asked him to oversee the situation," Modi tweeted.

The Prime Minister's office also tweeted, saying, PM Modi is continuously monitoring the situation in the Northeast. "He spoke to Arunachal Pradesh CM Shri Nabam Tuki," the office tweeted.

Along with the neighboring states, Bangladesh, Bhutan and Myanmar, tremors were also felt in the states of West Bengal and Arunachal Pradesh.

By Phani Ch