Quake kills 208 in southwest Pakistan

mangaloretoday.com

Karachi, Sept 25: A total of 208 people have been killed in a powerful earthquake that hit Pakistan’s southwest province of Balochistan Tuesday afternoon, an official said Wednesday.

Jan Muhammad Buledi, spokesperson of Balochistan government, said 145 people were killed in Awaran, the most-hit area in the earthquake, 55 dead in Mashkai and eight died in Turbat, reported Xinhua.

Media reports said 395 people were also injured in the 7.7 magnitude earthquake.

 

 

According to another report, at least eight people were killed in the Dandan  area of Kech district while five causalities were reported from Pasini, Turbat, Hub  and Gwadar districts.

There are contradictions in the number of causalties as the deputy speaker  of the provincial assembly of Balochistan Abdul Qadoos Bazinjo said that over 150  people had been killed in the province, but other officials did not confirm it.

The injured people were being shifted to district hospital Awaran where several of them were in a critical condition. FC spokesperson said the troops had shifted 70 bodies and dozens of injured to the hospital in Awaran.

Following the request from the district administration, Pakistan army sent  300 troops including rescue personnel and doctors along with medicines, tents,  foods and helicopters to the area.

The Inter Service Public Relations (ISPR), mouthpiece of Pakistan army, said  they had setup a rescue base camp in the Khuzdar district of the province and  had dispatched 300 troops to the affected areas and 700 more soldiers would join  them Wednesday morning.

According to the country’s National Disaster Management Authority, after the major earthquake that occurred at about 4:49 p.m., five aftershocks hit the country including the one of 5.9 magnitude.

Bazinjo said that emergency had been declared in five districts of the province including Awaran where majority of the houses were razed to ground.

He said that several army check posts and two buildings of paramilitary troops Levis were also levelled to ground which injured several troops.

The earthquake’s epicentre located in Awaran district, some 645 km away from the Balochistan’s capital Quetta.

Major Tremors and aftershocks that lasted for 20 to 40 minutes also jolted northern India. The earthquake created panic among the residents, however, no loss of life or property was reported.