People gathered outside the hospital after the earthquake in Pakistan.
Quetta:
At least 20 people were killed and more than 200 were injured in a shallow earthquake that struck southern Pakistan early Thursday, government officials said.
After a 5.7-magnitude earthquake struck Balochistan province, several victims were killed when ceilings and walls collapsed, forcing health workers to use flashlights to treat the injured due to power outages.
The worst affected area was the remote hill town of Harnai, where lack of paved roads, electricity and mobile phone coverage hampered rescue teams.
“We are getting information that 20 people have died due to the earthquake,” Balochistan Interior Minister Mir Ziaullah Langou said.
Suhail Anwar Hashmi, a senior provincial government official, said a woman and six children were among the 20 dead. He added that “over 200 people have been injured.”
“We are sending helicopters to the area soon to assist in the rescue operation and to evacuate the injured,” Hashmi said.
Nasir Nassar, the head of Balochistan’s Provincial Disaster Management Authority, warned that the death toll could rise.
The earthquake caused power outages in the area, with health workers working in the poorly equipped government hospital without lights till morning.
“Before daylight, we were working without electricity with the help of torches and mobile flashlights,” Zahoor Tarin, a senior official at the government-run Harnai Hospital, told AFP.
“Most of the injured came with fractures in the limbs. Dozens of people were sent back after first aid,” he said, adding that “at least 40 people suffered serious injuries.”
“We have imposed emergency in the hospital and are providing them with medical treatment.”
Private persons were helping to take the injured to the hospital.
The US Geological Survey said the quake had a magnitude of 5.7 and struck around 3 a.m. at a depth of about 20 kilometers (12 mi).
Tremors were also felt in Balochistan’s capital Quetta.
Pakistan straddles the boundary where the Indian and Eurasian tectonic plates meet, making the country more susceptible to earthquakes.
In October 2015, a 7.5-magnitude earthquake struck Pakistan and Afghanistan, killing nearly 400 people in rough terrain, hampering relief efforts.
The country was also hit by a 7.6 magnitude earthquake on October 8, 2005, which killed more than 73,000 people and left nearly 3.5 million homeless.
(Except for the title, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
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