Massive earthquake jolts parts of Pakistan
Tremors sent locals running from their homes in major cities across the country.
ISLAMABAD (Web Desk) - A strong earthquake lasting almost a minute was felt in Pakistan on Monday, with buildings shaking in the centre of the federal capital.
Reportedly, twelve people have been killed and hundreds have been injured across the country.
Tremors were also felt as far away as New Delhi in India and the Afghan capital Kabul, but not in neighbouring Nepal which was hit by a major quake in April.
Hundreds of people raced from buildings onto the streets while the quake was also felt in the Himalayan region of Kashmir, according to an AFP reporter.
Earthquake tremors now in Islamabad pic.twitter.com/4x5XAfKHYy
— Matiullah Jan (@Matiullahjan919) October 26, 2015
According to Pakistan Meteorological Department, the epicenter of the huge seismic activity, which occurred at 2:09 local time on Monday, was Hindu Kush Region Afghanistan, and had a depth of 193 kilometers.
The US Geological Survey put the epicentre near Jarm in the country s northeast, 250 kilometres (160 miles) from the capital Kabul and at a depth of 213.5 km. It previously estimated the magnitude at 7.7.
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Reportedly, two women have been killed when wall of a shop collapsed in Swat. A minor girl has been killed and nine others injured in Kalu Khan village of Swabi town.
At least 11 people were injured in Sargodha.
More than 100 people were injured in Swat Valley, said Dr Muhammad Sadiq, the head of emergency services at a government hospital there.
"Many more injured are still coming to hospital. Many are still under rubble," Sadiq told AFP.
Pakistan and the region, along an active continental plate boundary, is often hit by earthquakes. In September 2013, a magnitude-7.7 quake struck Pakistan’s Balochistan province, killing at least 376 people. In 2005, the country was hit by a 7.6-magnitude earthquake that killed more than 73,000 people and left about 3.5 million homeless.
