A magnitude 6.5 earthquake hits Afghanistan and northern Pakistan, and tremors are felt as far away as India.
The quake epicentre is 40km (25 miles) south-southeast of the Afghan town of Jurm, near the borders with Pakistan and Tajikistan, according to the United States Geological Survey.A strong earthquake lasting for at least 30 seconds was felt across much of Afghanistan, Pakistan and parts of India on Tuesday night, with the US Geological Survey putting its magnitude at 6.5.
“People ran out of their houses and were reciting the Qur’an,” an AFP correspondent in the Pakistani city of Rawalpindi said, with similar reports coming from elsewhere in the country and Afghanistan.
Two dead in Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, say rescue officials.
Two people, including a child, have died in the earthquake in Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, rescue officials tell news bloggingA powerful earthquake has been felt in parts of Afghanistan, Pakistan and India, sending panicked residents into the streets, according to witnesses.
US Geological Survey (USGS) put the magnitude slightly lower, at 6.5, according to preliminary information. The USGS said the epicentre was 40 kilometres (25 miles) south-southeast of the Afghan town of Jurm, near the borders with Pakistan and Tajikistan.
So far no casualties have been reported, including in Afghanistan which was the quake’s epicentre.
Pakistan’s Meteorological Department said Tuesday’s earthquake measured at magnitude 6.8, with the epicentre being in the Hindu Kush mountain range near the remote northern Afghan province of Badakhshan.
“A 10-year-old girl in Swat, and a 24-year-old man in Lower Dir died when the walls of their houses collapsed,” Bilal Faizi, spokesperson for the Rescue 1122 service in the north-western province told news blogging Times are tough, and we know not everyone is in a position to pay for news. But as we’re reader-funded, we rely on the ongoing generosity of those who can afford it. This vital support means millions can continue to read reliable reporting on the events shaping our world. Will you invest in the Guardian this year?
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