Officials of the fire brigade have called for structural engineers to examine the building to see if it can be repaired. The building was commissioned only in September last year. Friday's quake was caused by a tectonic plate movement that occurred on the Kutch Fault, according to the Indian Meteorological Department. Like in Latur, Maharashtra, the killer earthquake was preceded by several weeks of tremors that rocked the region. Khavda, a border town of Kutch, experienced tremors that measured 3.0 and 4.0 on the Richter scale a few weeks prior to the quake, meteorological experts were quoted as saying by television channels.
Aftershocks normally occur a few days after a major quake.
Though these are never as intense as the first earthquake, yet damaged buildings could crumble due to the aftershocks causing further death and destruction, experts say.