A powerful earthquake of 7.7 magnitude has killed at least 45 people in a remote area of south-west Pakistan, local officials say.
It struck at 16:29 local time (11:29 GMT) at a depth of 20km (13 miles), 66km north-east of Awaran in Balochistan province, the United States Geological Survey said.
It was felt as far away as Karachi, Hyderabad, and India's capital, Delhi.
Balochistan is Pakistan's largest but least populated province.
The province is prone to earthquakes, with at least 35 people killed in a 7.8-magnitude tremor that was centred in south-eastern Iran in April.
Mud houses
Awaran deputy commissioner Abdul Rasheed Gogazai and the spokesman of Pakistan's Frontier Corps involved in the rescue effort said at least 45 people had been killed.
A spokesman for Pakistan's National Disaster Management Authority, Mirza Kamran Zia, says the death toll is likely to rise.
Many of the casualties were from Labach, on the northern outskirts of Awaran town. There are reports of some people trapped under the rubble of collapsed houses.
Abdul Qadoos, deputy speaker of the Balochistan assembly, told the news agency that at least 30% of houses in Awaran district had collapsed.
Houses are also reported to have caved in in the district of Khuzdar.
Officials in the regional capital, Quetta, said some areas may have suffered serious damage but the remoteness made early assessment impossible.
People rushed out of their apartments and offices in Karachi
People in the region mostly live in mud houses as opposed to multi-story concrete structures, says the BBC's Shahzeb Jillani.
The few concrete buildings in the area mostly house government offices, he adds.
An emergency has been declared in the earthquake-affected districts of Awaran and Chagai.
Provincial disaster management officials say tents and medical supplies have been sent from Quetta and neighbouring district headquarters.
More than 200 army troops have also been despatched for rescue efforts.
Pakistan's chief meteorologist Mohammad Riaz told reporters it was a major earthquake that could cause extensive damage.
"But it would depend on how dense the population is in the area around the epicentre," he said.
Light tremors were also said to have been felt in Karachi and Hyderabad, with reports of people rushing out of office buildings.
Pakistani media is also reporting the emergence of a new island off the coast of Gwadar as a result of the earthquake.
Local police official Moazzam Jah told Geo TV the island - which reportedly has an altitude of 20 to 40 feet and width around 100 feet - emerged about half a mile away from the edge of the coastline.
No comments:
Post a Comment