Powerful quake jolts Pakistan, 3 killed

A powerful 7.1 magnitude quake on Sunday jolted many parts of Pakistan including PoK, killing three persons and forcing people to flee their homes in panic.

The epicentre of the quake that lasted 10-15 seconds was in the border region of Afghanistan and Tajikistan in the Hindu Kush mountains at a depth of 236 kilometres. The powerful quake was felt in Khyber-Pakhtuknkhwa (KP) and Punjab province as well as Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) and Gilgit-Baltistan regions.

In capital city Islamabad, terrified residents fled their homes in panic and were seen praying in the public. An official of the National Disaster Management Authority said that at least three person were killed. Two people died in Buner and Swat areas of KP province, while one died in Diamer area of Gilgit-Baltistan region, he said, adding 28 people were reported injured in the provincial capital Peshawar.

Pakistani authorities said the earthquake measured 7.1 on the Richter scale. However, the United States Geological Survey (USGS) measured the earthquake at 6.6 magnitude, putting the epicentre at a depth of 210 kilometres near Ashkasham in Afghanistan, close to Chitral near the Pak-Afghan border.

The quake was the strongest since a powerful 7.5-magnitude quake rocked parts of Pakistan and Afghanistan last October, killing almost 400 people and destroying thousands of home in the rugged mountainous border regions of the two countries.