At least 20 people were killed and dozens seriously injured in a 5.7-magnitude earthquake in southern Pakistan while people were sleeping in the early hours of Thursday. Several victims died as roofs and walls collapsed, with health workers treating the injured with the help of torches after a power failure.
Suhail Anwar Hashmi, a senior provincial government official, told AFP that a woman and six children were among the 20 killed. A BBC report quoted local officials as saying that at least 150 others were injured, many of whom were taken to hospital in critical condition.
“We are getting information that 20 people have died due to the earthquake. Rescue efforts are on,” said provincial interior minister Mir Zia Ullah Langou.
Nasser Nasser, the head of Balochistan’s provincial disaster management authority, told AFP that between 15 and 20 people had died, but warned the number could rise.
The worst-affected region was the remote mountain town of Harnai in Balochistan, where a lack of paved roads, electricity and mobile phone coverage has hampered rescue efforts.
The earthquake caused power outages in the area, with health workers working in a poorly equipped government hospital with no lights.
“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, while about 40 seriously injured people were sent to Quetta by ambulance.
The US Geological Survey said the quake had a magnitude of 5.7 and struck around 3 a.m. at a depth of 20 kilometers (12 mi). Tremors were also felt in Balochistan’s provincial 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.
A 7.6-magnitude earthquake also struck the country on October 8, 2005, which killed more than 73,000 people and left nearly 3.5 million homeless, mainly in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.
(with inputs from AFP)
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