Over 100 killed as strong quake hits southwest Balochistan

A powerful earthquake measuring 7.8 on the Richter scale struck the southwestern province of Balochistan on Tuesday, killing hundreds of people.

Balochistan Assembly Deputy Speaker Mir Abdul Qudoos Bizenjo said at least 150 people had died in the disaster in the province.

The quake struck at 4:29pm around 100 kilometres southwest of the city of Khuzdar, at a depth of 15 kilometres.

The US Geological Survey put the intensity of the quake at 7.8 on the Richter scale while the Pakistan Meteorological Office said the epicentre was located near Kharan.

The areas most affected by the quake were Awaran and Khuzdar, with over 90 percent of the villages in Awaran being destroyed.

The chief spokesman for the Pakistan’s National Disaster Management Authority, Mirza Kamran Zia, earlier put the death toll at 39. He said most of the casualties occurred when houses collapsed with people inside.

Khairjan Baloch, political secretary to the Balochistan chief minister and a former administrator in Awaran had earlier confirmed the death of 30 people throughout the province.

Baloch said 30 people were killed in Awaran while there were reports of three other deaths in Turbat.

“Six dead bodies have been recovered in Awaran bazaar,” Awaran Deputy Commissioner Abdul Rasheed Baloch said, adding that four bodies had been recovered in far flung villages of the district. “I fear more people are trapped inside the collapsed houses,” he said.

Baloch said a rescue operation was launched in the area and all forces were placed on high alert to retrieve the people from the rubble. He said there were reports that hundreds of mud-houses in the district had also collapsed.

Balochistan Chief Minister Dr Malik Baloch ordered the deputy commissioners of all 30 districts to remain on high alert in the aftermath of deadly quake.

Spokesman for the government of Balochistan, Jan Buledi, said a rescue operation had been launched in Awaran.

According to television reports, aftershocks were felt all over Balochistan including Quetta. The earthquake was also felt in the adjoining province of Sindh, including cities of Karachi, Jacobabad, Khairpur, and Nowshero Feroz.

Minor tremors were felt as far away as the Indian capital city of New Delhi, while office workers in the city of Ahmedabad near the border with Pakistan ran out of the buildings and into the streets.

According to the Times of India, strong tremors shook tall buildings in New Delhi, sending people running out into the streets.