ISLAMABAD, Oct 26: At least 200 people were killed and more than 1,300 others injured today as a powerful 7.5- magnitude earthquake – the strongest in 10 years – rocked Pakistan, sending severe shock waves as far as Punjab and PoK.
The quake’s epicentre was located near Jurm in northeast Afghanistan, 250 kilometres from Kabul and at a depth of 213.5 kms, according to the US Geological Survey.
The temblor collapsed buildings, triggered landslides and stampedes, prompting the government to rush army personnel to the affected areas for rescue operations.
Pakistan army chief General Raheel Sharif flew to some affected areas of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa to assess the rescue operation in the region that is the worst hit.
“The army chief has landed at Corps Headquarters in Peshawar. Corps Commander (Peshawar Hidayat-ur-Rehman) has briefed him on damage assessment,” Director-General of Pakistan military’s media wing ISPR Lt-Gen Asim Bajwa tweeted.
The death toll in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province and Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) is 191, with 5 killed in Punjab, 4 in the PoK and in Gilgit Balitistan, several local media reports said.
Over 1,000 people were injured, 956 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa alone. Malakand Division in the province is the worst hit with 137 dead.
The army chief took aerial view of quake-hit areas of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and was also briefed about army rescue and relief operation.
Bajwa also said that Quick Rapid Forces (QRFs) have spread out in respective areas.
“QRFs are busy in rescue work mainly in Malakand, Dir, Chitral and Bajaur while continuous damage assessment is under way,” he added.
The Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) has directed the district administration to utilise rescue and relief funds. Emergency has been declared in all government hospitals and food and necessary items were dispatched to the affected areas.
Reportedly, several buildings collapsed in various areas of the province mostly in northern parts in Chitral, Swat, Shangla, Dir and Buner districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) said that the quake hit the country at about 2:09 pm local time.
Several landslides have been reported in mountainous areas of the country, leading to fears that the death toll may increase.
Tremors were also felt in major cities, including Karachi, Lahore, Islamabad, Rawalpindi, Peshawar, Quetta, Kohat and Malakand.
Forty minutes after the first quake, an aftershock of 4.8 magnitude was reported in the same area. Aftershocks are expected to continue in the affected areas.
Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has directed all federal, civil, military and provincial agencies to declare an immediate alert and mobilise all resources to ensure the security of citizens of Pakistan. All agencies have been directed to move out with their resources.
The prime minister also told the Gilgit Baltistan governor to mobilise tribal administration immediately for relief, rescue and damage assessment in the affected regions.
On the directions of the premier, a round-the-clock crisis cell has also been formed to coordinate with all federal, civil, military and provincial agencies for damage assessment and rescue and relief efforts.
The premier also directed the governor to immediately reach Gilgit and take charge of rescue and relief efforts in the region.
Pakistan’s Information Minister Pervez Rashid said Pakistan will not issue any appeals to the international community for help as the country has the required resources to carry out the rescue and relief work.
He also thanked India for offering support to Islamabad for the quake victims.
A 7.6-magnitude earthquake in 2005 had killed over 73,000 people in Pakistan and left about 3.5 million homeless. However, the destruction then was more as the depth was very shallow.
The death toll from a devastating earthquake that rocked South Asia today nearly doubled to 63 in Afghanistan, after officials confirmed 30 fatalities in the eastern province of Kunar.
“The quake has caused a lot of devastation in this province. Initial information shows 30 people have been killed and more than 70 injured. Some 1,500 homes have also been destroyed,” said Kunar Governor Wahidullah Kalimzai.
Meanwhile, at least a dozen schoolgirls were trampled to death in the remote northern Afghan province of Takhar, in the most horrifying tragedy to emerge so far from a quake that rocked parts of South Asia Monday, killing at least 180 people.
Bystanders rushed the dazed and terrified girls to hospital, many lying limp in the arms of their rescuers, after a deadly stampede broke out as the students tried to flee their classrooms as the quake hit.
“The students rushed to escape the school building in Taluqan city after the terrifying quake, triggering a stampede,” Takhar education department chief Enayat Naweed told AFP.
The twelve students of Bibi Hajra high school killed were all under 16.
“When the aggrieved relatives of the dead students came to collect their bodies, they were so distressed that they could not even talk to authorities to record their names,” said Hafizullah Safai, head of the Takhar health department.
The powerful 7.5 magnitude quake struck Afghanistan’s Hindu Kush region and was felt across parts of South Asia, with fears the death toll could rise substantially.
Afghan officials have so far confirmed 33 fatalities in the provinces of Badakhshan, where the epicentre in located, as well as in Takhar, Nagarhar and Baghlan.
Given the difficulty in accessing most of these areas because of the rugged terrain, it could be days before the full impact of the quake is known.
“Phone lines are down and communication has been cut off in many areas,” said Afghanistan’s chief executive Abdullah Abdullah, adding that the quake was the strongest in felt in recent decades.
Officials in Nangarhar said people were trapped under debris in some districts of the volatile province, known as a hotbed for Islamic State insurgents.
“The death toll is expected to keep rising,” warned Nangyalay Yousufzai, the head of Nangarhar Red Crescent Society.
Thousands of frightened people rushed into the streets across Afghanistan, Pakistan and India as the quake rocked a swathe of the subcontinent.
Live footage from an Afghan news broadcast filmed in Kabul showed an anchor abandoning his desk as the quake shook the cameras.
The US Geological Survey put the epicentre near Jurm in Badakhshan province, neighbouring Takhar, at a depth of 213.5 kilometres. (AGENCIES)
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