DHAKA - At least three people have been confirmed dead during a 5.7-magnitude earthquake that jolted the capital Dhaka and parts of Bangladesh on Friday morning.

Ashish Kumar, duty officer of old Dhaka's Bangshal Police Station, told Xinhua that "a railing from a five-story building collapsed and fell amid the earthquake. Two of the pedestrians hit by the railing were killed on the spot. The third died after he was rushed to Sir Salimullah Medical College and Mitford Hospital."

Apart from this, three people were also injured in the earthquake as scared Dhaka dwellers rushed out of their homes when buildings shook and some makeshift structures collapsed.

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

Following the quake, authorities launched an emergency service response and sent a work team to the site to assist with disaster relief efforts.

Farzana Sultana, a meteorologist from the Bangladesh Meteorological Department, told Xinhua the epicenter was 13 km east of the Agargaon Seismic Center in the capital Dhaka.

Bangladesh, which sits in the zone of earthquakes, is prone to tremors.