Toll rises to 238 in Pakistan earthquake

The death count in the devastating earthquake that rocked Pakistan's Balochistan province Tuesday has climbed to 238, an official said Wednesday.

Jan Mohammad Buledi, spokesman of the Balochistan provincial government, Wednesday confirmed the toll, Geo News reported. Buledi said all six districts of Balochistan - Turbat, Awaran, Panjgor, Chagi, Khuzdar and Gawadar - were jolted by the earthquake but Awaran was the worst-hit. 

The 7.7-magnitude quake struck Awaran and its neighbouring districts at 4.29 p.m. Tuesday.  The Pakistan Meteorological Department said several aftershocks, including one measuring 5.9 onm Richter scale, were recorded following the major quake and strong tremors were also felt in south Sindh and east Punjab provinces of the country, reported Xinhua.

Rasheed Gadozai, deputy commissioner of Awaran, said an estimated 100,000 people have been affected in Awaran. Awaran is one of the poorest districts in Balochistan, with a population of less than 120,000. The actual situation in the quake-hit areas was not clear, as many of the villages affected by the earthquake were hard to access, said Rasheed Gadozai.

The Balochistan government has declared emergency in the six quake-hit districts and has started rescue operation along with the army and other security forces. The Pakistani Army Wednesday sent 600 more soldiers to the quake-hit areas, taking the total number of army personnel involved in the rescue operation to 900, said army sources.

The army rescuers have set up a base camp in Khuzda, a district in central Balochistan, 120 km northeast of the epicentre. Officials in Awaran said one of the serious problems facing the rescue operation was the lack of doctors and medical facilities.  Some of the people injured in the earthquake were shifted to Karachi, they added.