At least 20 people killed and hundreds injured after earthquake in Pakistan - Sky News

At least 20 people have been killed and more than 200 injured after an earthquake in Pakistan.

The 5.9-magnitude quake was about 12 miles deep and centred eight miles north-northeast of Harnai in Balochistan province.

It hit at about 3.20am on Thursday, when most people were asleep.

Image: Many people left their homes after the quake Pic: AP

According to Pakistan's The News, people had rushed out of their homes reciting prayers and verses from the Quran as the ground shook.

Aftershocks are still being felt.

The Provincial Disaster Management Authority has been reported as saying that most of the dead were children.

At least four of the other victims were killed when a coal mine collapsed.

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Rescuers are using heavy machinery to look for survivors but the number of dead is expected to rise.

Image: People gather outside a hospital following an earthquake in Harnai, Balochistan

More than 100 mud houses were destroyed and more properties were damaged, including government buildings.

The death toll is expected to rise as crews search the remote mountainous area, said Suhail Anwar, the local deputy commissioner in the city of Harnai, about 60 miles from the city of Quetta

Mr Anwar told Reuters that hundreds of people had been left homeless.

Some homes have been buried under the rubble and the area's power supply has been suspended.

Image: The earthquake hit in the early hours of Thursday, when most people were asleep. Pic: AP

The military was deployed to airlift dozens of injured people from mountain peaks, and search and rescue teams have arrived in the area.

At least nine critically injured people were taken to Quetta and the medical superintendent of a rural hospital in the Harnai district said they have "treated more than 200 casualties", with as many as 15 bodies taken there.

Image: Many residents have been left homeless and power to the area has been suspended

Quetta was the scene of one of southern Asia's deadliest quakes - in 1935 between 30,000 and 60,000 people were killed in a 7.7 magnitude quake. The death toll is expected to rise as crews search the remote mountainous area, said Suhail Anwar Shaheen, the local deputy commissioner.

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2021-10-07 08:15:58Z
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