Dozens feared dead in strong quake in South Asia

Dozens were feared dead and hundreds injured in Pakistan, India and Afghanistan after a strong earthquake measuring 7.6 on the Richter scale rocked the area on Saturday morning.

According to Pakistan's private television news station, Geo, at least 25 people had died in the Pakistan-controlled Kashmir, where homes, schools and government offices were damaged.

At least six people were killed and 87 injured in northern India-controlled Kashmir according to NDTV.

The road between Srinagar and Muzaffarabad was blocked by landslide and houses were reported collapsed in India-control Kashmir.

According to Indo-Asian News Service, at least 40 people were feared killed and several injured when a 10-storey residential building in Islamabad collapsed following the earthquake Saturday morning.

In Afghanistan's eastern Nangahar province, which borders Pakistan, an 11-year-old girl was reported crushed to death when a wall in her home collapsed.

Gen. Shaukat Sultan, the spokesman for Pakistan's army told reporters "We have received news of widespread damage in Pakistan's northern areas, Kashmir, and other parts of the country."

He said troops and helicopters had been sent to quake-hit areas to conduct rescue operations. However the rescue efforts were blocked by landslides.

The earthquake shook buildings of Islamabad, capital of Pakistan, for about one minute at around 8:55 a.m.

The earthquake was scaled 6.8 in the Richer scale by the Indian Meteorological Department and 7.6 by the US Geological Survey. According to Hong Kong Observatory, the epicenter was initially determined to be 34.4 north latitude and 73.5 east longitude, about 100 kilometers northeast of Islamabad.

At least eight people were injured in Lahore, the capital of Punjab province.

The quake also shook northern India and part of Afghanistan as Xinhua reporters in New Delhi and Kabul said both the capitals felt the shakings of the quake.

In India, the first tremor was felt at 9:25 a.m. Saturday in India-controlled Kashmir, north India's Uttaranchal, Punjab, Rajasthan, west India's Gujarat and the capital city Delhi.

Strong quakes have pushed people out of their homes in Srinagar in India-controlled Kashmir, according to NDTV reports.

High rise buildings were left particularly shaken by the tremor lasting for about minutes in Delhi.

Source: Xinhua