A 6.3 magnitude earthquake centred in the Hindu Kush jolted Afghanistan and Pakistan, damaging homes and leaving dozens of people injured just two months after a killer quake rattled the same mountain
A 6.3 magnitude earthquake centred in the Hindu Kush jolted Afghanistan and Pakistan, damaging homes and leaving dozens of people injured just two months after a killer quake rattled the same mountainous region.
The tremor late Friday hit at a depth of 203.5 km, the US Geological Survey said, sending people fleeing shaking buildings into a bitterly cold night and prompting fears of aftershocks.
The epicentre of the quake, which was felt as far away as New Delhi, was in the remote Afghan province of Badakhshan, close to the Pakistani and Tajik borders.
A pregnant woman was killed when a boulder fell on her house in Peshawar and up to 50 others were left injured in the north-western Pakistani city, officials said.
Initial information suggested at least 45 houses were damaged in Badakhshan where communication with remote, mountainous villages is typically slow, and 12 people were injured in the Afghan province of Nangarhar.
USGS had initially reported the quake’s magnitude at 6.2.As many as 59 people were injured in Peshawar, the provincial capital of Khyber-Pakthunkhwa, whereas other minor injuries reported include 17 from Swat, 12 from Lower Dir district and one from Buner district, an official of provincial disaster management authority said.
The injured were shifted to Lady Reading Hospital, Khyber Teaching Hospital and Hayatabad medical complex.
The majority of the injuries were caused due to panicky situation as the frightened people rushed out of their homes in haste and sustained minor injuries.
Due to landslide caused by the quake, the main Karakuram highway was closed in Upper Kohistan district which has now been cleared for the traffic movement.
“Rest all districts are ok, no major emergency reported,” a rescue official said.In October, a 7.5-magnitude quake in the same region ripped across Pakistan and Afghanistan, killing nearly 400 people and flattening buildings in rugged terrain.
Afghanistan is frequently hit by earthquakes, especially in the Hindu Kush mountain range, which lies near the junction of the Eurasian and Indian tectonic plates.
