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Jamnagar, Jodia, Bet, Surat swing from celebrations to mourning in seconds

Sanjay Jani in Jamnagar

Seven people were reported killed in Jamnagar, 15 more in Jodia and another two in Bet town, as a killer earthquake rocked Gujarat and adjoining states on Friday morning. The quake measured 7.9 on the Richter Scale. Sources put the overall toll at over 130.

G G hospital in Jamnagar resembled a war zone, with victims pouring in non-stop. Already, 500 injured people have arrived from Jamnagar district.

Meanwhile, agency reports said at least 20 people have died in Surat and many others injured when a ten-storey building collapsed in the quake.

At 8.55 am, when the Republic Day celebrations were on at various places and all the VIPs were in town, intense tremors rocked the region.

The organisers had to suddenly interrupt the functions as many structures started collapsing like a pack of cards swept by a heavy wind. Many of the injured had to be rushed to the hospital in the midst of functions, even as all the Republic Day functions had to be abandoned.

According to police, more than 150 buildings have developed cracks in the quake.

Jayesh Ahir, a resident of Balmbha village, 45 km off Jamnagar, told rediff.com: "I might be the luckiest person in my town where 250 houses have collapsed. No phone lines are working. I just ran from my village. Please help me contact the police and fire brigade so they can reach my village at the earliest. More than 200 people are trapped under debris and they need to be rescued."

Police said they, too, have been receiving similar messages from the coastal areas of the Saurashtra region.

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