ISLAMABAD: At least nine people were killed and scores of others injured in Pakistan’s Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province after a magnitude 6.8 earthquake struck several parts of the country late on Tuesday night.
The earthquake’s epicentre was in Afghanistan, according to Pakistan Meteorological Department.
News comming from SWAT & Gilgit Baltistan are not good. Pray for the safety 💔🤲
#زلزلہ#earthquake pic.twitter.com/0yZYHbJdhD
— Baaghi 🇵🇰 (@AhmadHasanPK) March 21, 2023
K-P government senior official Abdul Basit told Reuters that at least 19 houses were partially damaged by the earthquake, sending panicked residents to flee their homes.
Over 100 people were brought to hospitals in the Swat valley, Bilal Faizi, a spokesman for Rescue 1122, told The Associated Press.
He said that the terrified people collapsed because of the shock of the earthquake. He said most of the injured were later discharged from hospitals after giving them first aid.
Massive earthquake in Lahore#earthquake pic.twitter.com/nBxIJPKlny
— Pakistan Tourism (@PakistanJannatt) March 21, 2023
Faizi and other officials said that at least nine people were killed when roofs collapsed in various parts of the earthquake-prone province. Dozens of others were injured in the quake that was centered in Afghanistan and also felt in bordering Tajikistan. The earthquake also triggered landslides in some of the mountainous areas, disrupting traffic.
Taimoor Khan, a K-P disaster management authority spokesman, said that at least 19 mudbrick homes caved in in remote areas. He said that they were still collecting data about the damages.
https://twitter.com/rajamohsinsays/status/1638235360449687552
The powerful tremors sent many people fleeing their homes and offices in Islamabad. Images and video suggested cracks had appeared in some apartment buildings in the city.
According to Rescue 1122 officials, at least two people jumped from the roof of a plaza near Sixth Road in Rawalpindi and sustained injuries. At least five people fell unconscious after the earthquake struck the garrison city.
😮😮😮
— Raja Mohsin Ijaz (@rajamohsinsays) March 21, 2023
Officials said that cracks appeared in several buildings in different areas of Rawalpindi. A spokesman for Rescue 1122 said, “Due to the earthquake, different areas of Rawalpindi have been affected.”
He said that there were reports of cracks in buildings that were being assessed. He said that no loss of life has been reported so far.
