by Naim-Ul-Karim

DHAKA, Nov. 22 (Xinhua) -- At least 10 people were killed and hundreds of others injured on Friday after one of the biggest earthquakes in Bangladesh's recent history struck near the capital city Dhaka.

Millions of capital dwellers were completely panicked because of the 5.7-magnitude earthquake which hit other parts of the country as well.

Md Rezaul Karim, Dhaka's deputy commissioner and district magistrate, told Xinhua that the earthquake claimed four lives and injured 59 others in Dhaka.

Ashish Kumar, duty officer of old Dhaka's Bangshal Police Station, told Xinhua earlier that the earthquake caused a railing to collapse from a five-storey building. Three pedestrians were struck by the falling railing. Two died at the scene, and the third passed away after being rushed to the hospital.

Brigadier General Md Mazharul Islam Khan, director of Sir Salimullah Medical College and Mitford Hospital in old Dhaka, said that 20 others received treatment, with one admitted for further care.

Officials at Dhaka Medical College Hospital said that by 3:00 p.m. local time, 41 people had come in for treatment. Six were kept in the hospital, but the others were treated and sent home, they added.

According to the Bangladesh Meteorological Department (BMD), the tremor was recorded at 10:38 a.m. local time.

Farzana Sultana, a meteorologist from the BMD, told Xinhua that the epicenter was near the city of Narsingdi, 13 km east of the Agargaon Seismic Center in the capital Dhaka.

Nurjahan Begum, Bangladesh's adviser for the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, visited the injured people in several hospitals and said that all government hospitals have been instructed to provide good medical care to anyone affected by the earthquake.

Scores of houses in Dhaka and other parts of the country have sustained varying degrees of damage.

Following the quake, authorities launched emergency responses and sent teams to various sites to assist with disaster relief and rescue efforts.