Six killed as 7.1 magnitude quake jolts northern areas, Punjab
PESHAWAR: A 7.1 magnitude earthquake jolted parts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Punjab on Sunday afternoon, the Pakistan Meteorological Department said, causing fear and panic among residents who vacated buildings for the duration of the almost ‘three-minute-long quake.’
Six people – five in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa one in Gilgit-Baltistan – died from landslides, said a spokesman of the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA). At least 20 houses were damaged due to the quake.
Twenty seven injured people were admitted to Peshawar's Lady Reading Hospital for treatment, most of whom were discharged after first aid, said Dr Khalid Masood, the hospital's spokesman. He said all injured were in stable conditions.
The quake was felt for a few seconds in Kabul and in Islamabad, where some residents evacuated apartment blocks after tremors shook ceiling fans and furniture.
The quake was also felt in New Delhi, where buildings in the centre swayed and the metro train system was halted temporarily as a precaution.
People rushed out of their homes in the northern region of Indian-administered Kashmir.
“People are on the streets now and we don't know whether to go back inside,” said an AFP reporter in Srinagar.
In Pakistan, tremors were felt in Lahore, Islamabad, Rawalpindi, Peshawar, Swat, Chitral, Mardan, Kohat, Hangu, Shangla, Azad Jammu and Kashmir, DawnNews reported.