At least 11 dead after 6.5 magnitude earthquake rattles Pakistan, Afghanistan

Dozens of others were injured in the quake, which was centered in Afghanistan and also felt in bordering Tajikistan, and more were taken to hospital suffering shock.

A magnitude 6.5 earthquake rattled much of Pakistan and Afghanistan on Tuesday, sending panicked residents fleeing from homes and offices and frightening people in remote villages. At least 11 people died in the two countries.

More than 100 people were brought to hospitals in the Swat valley region of Pakistan’s northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province in a state of shock, Bilal Faizi, a spokesman for Pakistan’s emergency services told The Associated Press.

“These terrified people collapsed, and some of them collapsed because of the shock of the earthquake,” he said. Faizi said most were later discharged from the hospital.

Faizi and other officials said nine people were killed when roofs collapsed in various parts of northwestern Pakistan. Dozens of others were injured in the quake, which was centered in Afghanistan and also felt in bordering Tajikistan. The earthquake triggered landslides in some of the mountainous areas, disrupting traffic.

Taimoor Khan, a spokesman for the provincial disaster management authority in the northwest, said at least 19 mudbrick homes collapsed in remote areas. “We are still collecting data about the damages,” he said.

The powerful tremors sent many people fleeing their homes and offices in Pakistan’s capital of Islamabad, some reciting verses from the Quran, Islam’s holy book. Media reports suggested cracks had appeared in some apartment buildings in the city.

In Afghanistan, Sharafat Zaman Amar, Taliban’s appointed spokesman for the public health ministry said, so far at least two people died and around 20 others were injured in the earthquake in Afghanistan.

Zaman Amar said “Unfortunately, there could be more casualties as the quake was so powerful, in most parts of the country” all hospitals and health facilities are ready to save lives of people, he added.