Kolkata/Ranchi, Aug 11 - The strong earthquake in the Bay of Bengal early Tuesday led to a minor tremor being felt in Kolkata, the coastal areas of West bengal and as far inland as Jharkhand, forcing people to come out of their houses.

The tremors were felt at 1.26 a.m. as a result of an earthquake north of the Andaman Islands. The quake measured 7.8 on the Richter scale.

People made frantic calls to friends and relatives after the jolt. A few houses in Ranchi suffered minor cracks.