Death toll rises after earthquake strikes Afghanistan, Pakistan

11 people have been killed and hundreds injured after a magnitude 6.5 earthquake hit areas across Afghanistan and Pakistan, with tremors felt as far as the Indian capital New Delhi.

The earthquake’s epicentre was 40km (25 miles) southeast of the Afghan town of Jurm, near the borders with Pakistan and Tajikistan, the United States Geological Survey (USGS) said on Tuesday.

Separately, Pakistan’s Meteorological Department put the magnitude slightly higher at 6.8 and later reported a 3.7 magnitude aftershock in the Hindu Kush region along the country’s border with Afghanistan.

Bilal Faizi, a spokesperson for Pakistan’s Rescue 1122 service in the northwest of the country, and other officials told the Associated Press news agency that nine people were killed when roofs collapsed in various parts of northwestern Pakistan.

“A 10-year-old girl in Swat and a 24-year-old man in Lower Dir died when the walls of their respective houses collapsed,” Faizi said.

According to Faizi, landslides have caused damage in the Swat district, 180km (112 miles) northwest of the capital Islamabad.

“More than 20 buildings have come across damages due to the jolts and scores of people have been injured,” he said.

Hospitals in the Swat Valley in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province attended at least 250 patients, 15 of whom suffered minor injuries and more than 200 were unconscious. Fifty-two people were injured in other parts of the province, officials said.

Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif asked the country’s disaster management officials to remain vigilant in the repercussions of the earthquake.

In Afghanistan, Sharafat Zaman Amar, the Taliban’s appointed spokesperson for the public health ministry, told that, so far, at least two people were reported killed and about 20 others injured in the earthquake.

“Unfortunately, there could be more casualties as the quake was so powerful in most parts of the country,” Zaman Amar said.

Tremors felt in Kabul

The tremor was felt in the Afghan capital, Kabul, as well as a number of Pakistani cities, including Islamabad and Lahore.

Sarah Hasan, a resident of Islamabad, mentioned the walls of her house vibrated as the earthquake hit the Pakistani capital.

“It started off gradually and then became strong,” the 43-year-old said.

“The house was vibrating, things were shaking. It started drop and after a few minutes, it felt like everything is calm again.”

Witnesses also reported feeling the shaking in Indian-administered Kashmir. There, people leaped out of their homes in fear as they recalled two devastating earthquakes that struck Turkey and Syria last month, killing more than 50,000 people.

“We were sitting in our home when we saw everything around us shaking. Initially, it was not very powerful but when we rushed outside, we saw everyone in the street crying,” Muhammad Yasin, a resident of the main city of Srinagar said.

“The images of the devastation from Turkey and Syria are still fresh in our eyes. For a moment, we felt it is the end of our world,” he said.

More than 1,000 people lost their lives last year after a magnitude 6.1 earthquake hit eastern Afghanistan.

Source: Agencies