Mohammad Raafi
SRINAGAR
A 7.7 magnitude earthquake that struck major cities of Northern Pakistan and India including Jammu and Kashmir on Monday, have left alt least 29 dead and scores injured due to roof and building collapses.
Six people, including children, received injuries in Srinagar, while four people were injured in the north Kashmir region after the collapse of buildings in the area.
An eight-year-old child was injured in Lalbazar area of Srinagar, whereas one injury was also reported from south Kashmir after the roof of a house collapsed.
Another child of 14-year-old suffered heavy injuries in Ganderbal district area a school wall collapsed. A child also suffered heart attack in Lal Chowk and was immediately referred to SMHS.
Communication services have been disrupted in Kashmir, where walls swayed back and forth and people poured out of office buildings in a panic, reciting verses from the Holy Quran. A building has also reportedly cracked in Lal Chowk.
Citizens took to social media to post reports of the massive quake that lasted for up to one minute.
Tremors were also felt in Kabul and New Delhi.
The full extent of the damage and the number of possible casualties is not yet known.
The magnitude 7.7 earthquake struck in North eastern Afghanistan, the United States Geological Survey said.
Vineet Gahlot, the director of seismology at the Indian Meteorological Department, said the earthquake had a magnitude of 7.7 and an epicentre deep in the Hindu Kush region of Afghanistan, a private television channel reported.
The Pakistan Meteorological Department, however, said the magnitude of the earthquake was 8.1.
The quake was 196km deep and centred 82km southeast of Feyzabad in a remote area of Afghanistan in the Hindu Kush mountain range.
According to USGS, the epicentre is 67km from Chitral.
Six people, including children, were killed in Swat, while four people were killed in the Bajaur tribal region after the collapse of buildings in the area.
