Seven killed, over 100 injured as quake hits PoK's Mirpur, tremors felt in India too
Islamabad, Sep 24 (UNI) At least seven people were killed and over 100 injured, when an earthquake measuring 5.8 on the Richter scale, hit Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) and parts of India, on Tuesday evening.
According to the United States Geological Survey (USGS), the 5.8-intensity tremor, struck at a shallow depth of 10 km, with its epicentre lying one km southeast of Mirpur in PoK.
Information Minister of PoK Mushtaq Minhas said they were not in a position to assess the overall damage now, fearing that the death toll might further rise, as several people were still buried under the debris.
Tremors were also felt in Islamabad, Rawalpindi, Murree, Jhelum, Charsadda, Swat, Khyber, Abbottabad, Bajaur, Nowshera, Mansehra, Battagram, Torghar and Kohitan.
The impact of the quake was so high that it also damaged the roads in the region.
Several cars caved-in after deep cracks were formed on the roads. The tremor sent people of affected areas scurrying into the streets.
The worst-hit area was Jatlan town of Mirpur, where several buildings collapsed and at least a two-km long road skidded into a canal, local media reported, adding that several vehicles moving at the road adjacent to a canal fell and drowned in the canal.
Pakistani Army Chief Qamar Javed Bajwa has deployed Army rescue and medical teams to respond to the situation.
Meanwhile, Deputy Commissioner of Mirpur Raja Qaisar told the local media that a state of emergency has been declared in the area, with an appeal to the public to be calm and offer help to the affected people.
An aftershock of 3.4-magnitude was also observed in six km north of Jhelum fearing that more aftershocks might come as the area is located at the fault line.
In a public message, the National Disaster Management Authority from Prime Minister's Office said that there are chances of aftershocks, requesting the people to take necessary precautionary measures to avoid possible losses.
Chinese news agency Xinhua reported that Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan, who is in New York to attend the UN General Assembly session has expressed his sorrows over the losses and instructed the authorities concerned to take quick and special measures to provide relief to the affected people.
The tremors were also felt in parts of India, including the national capital New Delhi, forcing people to come out of their homes and take shelter at safer locations. So far, no loss of life or injuries was reported from India.
Pakistan has a long history of earthquakes as it is located at one of the most earthquake-prone areas with high vulnerability to earthquakes.
Seismology experts said that most of the earthquakes originate in the region, because of the intersection of three large mountain ranges, the Hindu Kush, the Himalayas and the Karakoram.
Support Our Journalism
We cannot do without you.. your contribution supports unbiased journalism
IBNS is not driven by any ism- not wokeism, not racism, not skewed secularism, not hyper right-wing or left liberal ideals, nor by any hardline religious beliefs or hyper nationalism. We want to serve you good old objective news, as they are. We do not judge or preach. We let people decide for themselves. We only try to present factual and well-sourced news.
Support objective journalism for a small contribution.
