(MENAFN- Trend News Agency) A magnitude 6.5 earthquake rattled much of Pakistan and
Afghanistan on Tuesday, sending panicked residents fleeing from
homes and offices and frightening people in remote villages. At
least 11 people died in the two countries, trend reports citing
the
washington times .
More than 100 people were brought to hospitals in the Swat
valley region of Pakistan's northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
province in a state of shock, Bilal Faizi, a spokesman for
Pakistan's emergency services told The Associated Press.
“These terrified people collapsed, and some of them collapsed
because of the shock of the earthquake,” he said. Faizi said most
were later discharged from the hospital.
Faizi and other officials said nine people were killed when
roofs collapsed in various parts of northwestern Pakistan. Dozens
of others were injured in the quake, which was centered in
Afghanistan and also felt in bordering Tajikistan. The earthquake
triggered landslides in some of the mountainous areas, disrupting
traffic.
Taimoor Khan, a spokesman for the provincial disaster management
authority in the northwest, said at least 19 mudbrick homes
collapsed in remote areas.“We are still collecting data about the
damages,” he said.
The powerful tremors sent many people fleeing their homes and
offices in Pakistan's capital of Islamabad, some reciting verses
from the Quran, Islam's holy book. Media reports suggested cracks
had appeared in some apartment buildings in the city.
In Afghanistan, Sharafat Zaman Amar, Taliban's appointed
spokesman for the public health ministry said, so far at least two
people died and around 20 others were injured in the earthquake in
Afghanistan.
Zaman Amar said“Unfortunately, there could be more casualties
as the quake was so powerful, in most parts of the country” all
hospitals and health facilities are ready to save lives of people,
he added.
The scene was repeated in Kabul and other parts of
Afghanistan.
“The quake was so strong and terrifying, we thought houses are
collapsing on us, people were all shouting and were shocked,” said
Shafiullah Azimi, a Kabul resident.
Aziz Ahmad, 45, another Kabul resident, said“In my life this
was first time I have experienced such powerful quake, everyone was
terrified,” He added he and all his neighbors stayed out of their
homes for hours, afraid of aftershocks.“We couldn't dare to get
back homes.”
The U.S. Geological Survey said the epicenter of the magnitude
6.5 quake was 40 kilometers (25 miles) south-southeast of Jurm in
Afghanistan's mountainous Hindukush region, bordering Pakistan and
Tajikistan. The quake struck 188 kilometers (116 miles) deep below
the Earth's surface, causing it to felt over a wide area.
Physician Rakhshinda Tauseed was at her hospital in the eastern
Pakistani city of Lahore when the earthquake hit.“I quickly asked
patients to go move to a safer place,” she said.
Khurram Shahzad, a resident in Pakistan's garrison city of
Rawalpindi, said he was having dinner with his family at a
restaurant when the walls started swaying.
“I quickly thought that it is a big one, and we left the
restaurant and came out,” he told The Associated Press by phone. He
said he saw hundreds of people standing on the streets.
The situation was similar in Peshawar, the capital of Khyber
Pakhtunkhwa province on the border with Afghanistan, where people
were seen standing outside their homes and offices.
Pakistani Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif in a statement said he
asked disaster management officials to remain vigilant to handle
any situation.
Zabihullah Mujahid, the main spokesman for the Taliban
government in Afghanistan, tweeted that the Ministry of Public
Health had ordered all health centers to be on standby.