22 killed, over 300 injured in earthquake in Pakistan’s Balochistan province

Karachi (TIP): A powerful 5.9-magnitude earthquake jolted a mountainous part of Pakistan’s Balochistan province early on October 7, resulting in the collapse of a coal mine and several mud houses that left at least 22 people dead and over 300 others injured, officials said.

The National Seismic Monitoring Centre in Islamabad said the epicentre of the earthquake was near Harnai, which has a large number of coal mines, at a depth of around 15 kilometres.

The quake affected Quetta, Sibi, Harnai, Pishin, Qila Saifullah, Chaman, Ziarat and Zhob in Balochistan. Most of the deaths and injuries were reported from the remote north-eastern district of Harnai where at least 13 people have died, according to officials.

At least four people were killed when a coal mine in which they were working collapsed, Suhail Anwar Shaheen, the local deputy commissioner, was quoted as saying by the Associated Press.

Disaster management officials said the death toll may increase. The US Geological Survey said it was a 5.9 magnitude quake that struck at a shallow depth. Shallow quakes can cause more damage.

Balochistan Home Minister Zia Ullah Langau confirmed that the death toll in the earthquake has reached 22.

Earlier, Deputy Commissioner of Harnai district Sohail Anwar Hashmi had said that six children were among 22 dead. He said five to six districts were affected on a “major scale” and data was still being collected.

The Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) said many of the dead were women and children.

Images on social media showed people in the city of Quetta out on the streets in the aftermath of the quake, Dawn newspaper reported.

Aftershocks are still being felt in different areas. The earliest tremors were felt at 3:20 am after which panicked citizens rushed out of their houses reciting verses from the holy Quran. Relief and rescue activities are underway, with an emergency declared in all hospitals.

According to Hashmi, several people have been rushed to the hospital in critical condition. He said that several buildings in Harnai have been damaged. Many people were left buried under the rubble.

More than 100 mud houses have also collapsed, leaving hundreds of people homeless. The power supply to the area has been suspended, he said. Balochistan Chief Minister Jam Kamal Khan Alyani said that assistance and evacuation efforts were underway.

(PTI)

Be the first to comment

The Indian Panorama - Best Indian American Newspaper in New York & Dallas - Comments