Media Wire

Around two dozen killed, hundreds injured in Pakistan quake

At least 20 people were killed and 300 more injured in a 5.9 magnitude earthquake shaking Balochistan Province in Pakistan early on Thursday. Hundreds are left homeless and death toll is expected to rise.

Provincial Home Minister Mir Ziaullah Langove told the media that a state of emergency has been declared in all districts of the province affected by the earthquake to assist rescue efforts and health services.

The minister added that helicopters are being sent to the affected areas to shift the seriously injured to other cities, including the provincial capital of Quetta.

According to the National Seismic Monitoring Center of Pakistan, the 5.9-magnitude quake hit at 3:01 a.m. local time with focal depth of 15 km and the epicenter located near the Harnai district.

The jolts were also felt in different areas, including Quetta, Mastung, Muslim Bagh, Qila Saifullah, Sibi and Pishin.

Director General of Provincial Disaster Management Authority in Balochistan, Naseer Nasar, said casualties were reported from the Harnai district of the province where houses collapsed after the jolts.

Rescue teams have rushed to the affected areas and started rescue work, noted Nasar, adding that rescue work was facing problems due to the mountainous terrain of the district and disconnection of power supply.

According to local media reports, landslides in the quake-hit areas have blocked several roads affecting the rescue works.

Nasar stated heavy machinery for rescue work has been sent to the affected areas but it will take some time to reach the sites.

Nasar added initial reports from the ground said that at least three villages were the worst hit in Harnai district where around 70 houses collapsed.

Deputy Commissioner for Harnai city Sohail Anwar Hashmi said the bodies and the injured were being shifted to nearby hospitals, adding that the majority of the deceased and injured were women and children.

The official told the media that the death toll might further rise as at least 15 of the injured people were in critical condition and several people were buried under the debris of the collapsed houses.

IFP Media Wire

Reports and views published in the Media Wire section have been retrieved from other news agencies and websites, and do not necessarily reflect the opinion of the Iran Front Page (IFP) news website. The IFP may change the headlines of the reports in a bid to make them compatible with its own style of covering Iran News, and does not make any changes to the content. The source and URL of all reports and news stories are mentioned at the bottom of each article.

Recent Posts

“Iran Hamdel” campaign sends aid to Gaza amid war

Aid items donated by millions of Iranians within a national campaign, have reached the beseiged…

1 hour ago

Iranian deputy FM: Cooperation with Saudis serves as a successful model for fostering peace and security

Iran's Deputy Foreign Minister Majid Takht Ravanchi has said Iran and Saudi Arabia are committed…

1 hour ago

Official: Iran responds to IAEA resolution with increased nuclear enrichment capacity

Behrouz Kamalvandi, the spokesperson for the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI), says the organization…

3 hours ago

Pictures: Demonstrators in Tehran support people of Gaza, Lebanon

Hundreds of people gathered in Tehran on Friday morning in front of the United Nations…

3 hours ago

Int’l lawyer: US plans to sanction countries cooperating with ICC on Netanyahu arrest

An international law expert and analyst has revealed the U.S. plans to impose punitive measures…

6 hours ago

Minister of science: 25% of Iranian university professors emigrated due to economic challenges

Iran’s Minister of Science, Research, and Technology, Hossein Simayee Saraf, addressed on Thursday academic migration…

6 hours ago