October 07, (THEWILL) – At least 20 people have been killed after an earthquake struck Pakistan’s Balochistan province early on Thursday.
Authorities say the death toll may increase, and that many people were killed when structures collapsed.
Many of the dead were women and children, the Reuters news agency said.
The US Geological Survey said it was a 5.9 magnitude quake that struck at a shallow depth of 9km.
Shallow quakes can cause more damage.
Rescue operations are still under way but local officials said that at least 150 others are reportedly injured, with several of them rushed to hospital in critical condition.
Some people were treated on stretchers with medics using phones as torches, Reuters said.
More than 100 mud houses have collapsed and a large number of buildings were damaged, leaving hundreds of people homeless, an official told the agency.
People shift an injured victim, after a 5.9 magnitude earthquake with a shallow depth of nine kilometers struck Harnai, to a hospital in Quetta, Balochistan province, Pakistan, 7 October 2021
Images on social media showed people in the provincial capital of Quetta out on the streets in the aftermath.
Much of the damage appears to have affected the Harnai district, officials said.
Harnai, which is located east of Quetta, has a large number of coal mines that could collapse during quakes
About the Author
