Eighty people were killed and about 80 injured when a 7.7-magnitude earthquake hit southwestern Pakistan on Tuesday, with officials saying more persons could be buried under the rubble of collapsed homes.
At least 80 people were killed in Awaran district, located near the quake’s epicentre in Balochistan province, said Brig Wajid Akhtar of the Earthquake Reconstruction and Rehabilitation Authority.
About 80 injured people, including women and children, were brought to the Civil Hospital in Khuzdar, a spokesman for the Balochistan Government said. Reports of deaths had been received from Awaran and Turbat districts, he said. Hundreds of mud-brick houses collapsed or were damaged in Awaran and Khuzdar areas, officials said.
Six bodies were found in Awaran bazar and four more in far flung villages of the district, said Deputy Commissioner Abdul Rasheed Baloch. “I fear more people are trapped inside collapsed houses,” he said.
Ghulam Baloch, an administration official from Khuzdar, said, “Houses and shops have collapsed and the casualties could increase.” Houses were also damaged in Pasni and Windar but details were awaited from these areas, Baloch said.
The army despatched 300 soldiers, rescue and medical teams and a helicopter to the worst-hit areas. Chief Minister Abdul Malik said an emergency had been declared in Awaran, seven to eight hours’ drive from Quetta, the provincial capital.