MIRPUR: At least one person was reported dead and multiple injured after a house collapsed in Mirpur after earthquake tremors hit the city and adjoining areas on Sunday.
According to details, Mirpur and adjoining areas were shaken by tremors on Sunday morning at 10:28 am for two to three seconds.
Rescue sources said that tremors in the area resulted in a house being collapsed, which led to three being buried under the debris. Two of them were immediately shifted to a hospital for treatment while one of them succumbed to his injuries.
Meanwhile, at least three people sustained severe wounds when a two-storey building became damaged by the aftershocks of the quake in Mirpur on Saturday early morning. The injured were taken to the district headquarters hospital for medical assistance. The locals said that the tremor jolted the area at 3:00am.
Last month, at least 40 people were killed and 800 were injured when an earthquake of 5.8 magnitude jolted several parts of the country, including Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) and Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK).
According to US Geological Survey, the quake had hit 22 kilometres (14 miles) north of the city of Jhelum along the boundary separating the agricultural heartland of Punjab and Kashmir.
Pakistan Meteorological Department’s earthquake centre had said the earthquake measured 5.8 on the Richter scale and its depth was at 10 kilometres.
Pakistan’s chief meteorologist Muhammad Riaz had told AFP that “the worst hit” was Mirpur in AJK.
The tremors lasted for 8-10 seconds and were felt strongly. A bridge connecting Bhimber and Mirpur as well as Munda bridge, located in the former, were also damaged along with Jatlan road.
Soon after the incident, Prime Minister Imran Khan had expressed grief over the losses whereas AJK prime minister had cut short his Lahore visit and rushed back home. Emergency was declared in hospitals and troops were dispatched for relief efforts.