At least 20 killed as 5.9-magnitude earthquake rocks parts of Balochistan
New Delhi: The Government official of Pakistan on Thursday morning said that “Around 20 people were killed and more than 200 injured when a shallow earthquake hit southern Pakistan in the early hours of Thursday as people slept,”
Many of the victims died when roofs and walls collapsed after the 5.7 magnitude quake struck in the Balochistan province, with a power cut forcing health workers to treat the injured using flashlights.
According to the National Seismic Monitoring Centre of Pakistan, the earthquake was centered near the province’s Harnai district and had a depth of 15 kilometers. It added the quake had a longitude of 67.96 east and a latitude of 30.08 north. Tremors were felt in Quetta, Sibbi, Pishin, Muslim Bagh, Ziarat, Qila Abdullah, Sanjavi, Zhob, and Chaman, the PDMA said in its initial report.
The worst-affected area was the remote mountainous city of Harnai, where a lack of paved roads, electricity, and mobile phone coverage hampered rescuers.
“We are receiving information that 20 people have been killed due to the earthquake,” Balochistan home minister Mir Zia Ullah Langau added.
Naseer Nasar, the head of Balochistan’s Provincial Disaster Management Authority, warned that the toll may rise. The quake caused electricity to fail in the region, with health staff working until dawn without lights in a poorly equipped government hospital.
(_Vinayak)
