A 7.5 magnitude earthquake has struck Northeastern Afghanistan, sending tremors that were felt in Pakistan and India. At least 60 deaths have been reported across Afghanistan and Pakistan, including 12 schoolgirls.
The US Geological Survey said the quake, which struck at around 1:40 p.m. local time (0910 UTC) on Monday, was 196 kilometers (121 miles) deep and its epicenter was 82 kilometers Southeast of Feyzabad, in a remote area of Afghanistan in the Hindu Kush mountain range.
At least 40 people were killed across Pakistan and 100 of others injured. Within hours of the quake, the country’s Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif urged authorities to utilize all resources to help any victims and ordered the military to initiate rescue operations in the country’s northern and northwestern regions.
The region has a history of powerful earthquakes. In 2005, more than 75,000 were killed when a 7.6-magnitude quake hit Pakistan-administered Kashmir.
In the Afghan capital of Kabul, there were scenes of panic as people fled from office buildings, reciting Quran verses. Early reports said that at least 20 people had died in Afghanistan. Among them were schoolgirls, who were killed after a stampede broke out at their school in the northern Afghan city of Taloqan.
“The students rushed to escape the school building,” Takhar Education Department Chief Enayat Naweed told AFP news agency, adding that at least 35 others were also injured in the stampede.
The country’s CEO Abdullah Abdullah, said on Twitter that there were also reports of damages and injuries in Afghanistan’s northeast.
“Disaster authorities to meet within the hour and respond to the needs,” Abdullah tweeted.
In New Delhi, the quake was felt for almost a minute, with witnesses reporting shaking buildings. “The Times of India” also reported that authorities closed the Indian capital’s underground train system as a result of the quake.
There were no reports of tremors in Nepal, however, which is still recovering from a major earthquake that struck almost exactly six months ago.
-DW.COM
