Powerful quake rocks South Asia, one dead

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan (3rd UPDATE) – A powerful earthquake rocked large parts of South Asia Sunday, April 10, with one person killed by falling rocks in Pakistan and tremors felt in at least 4 countries.

The 6.6-magnitude quake struck northeast Afghanistan at a depth of 210 kilometers (130 miles) at 2:58 pm (1028 GMT), the US Geological Survey said.

It was felt for a few seconds in the Afghan capital Kabul 282 km to the south and in Pakistan’s capital Islamabad, where some residents evacuated apartment blocks after tremors shook ceiling fans and furniture.

In the Indian capital New Delhi, buildings in the centre swayed and the metro train system was halted temporarily as a precaution.

People rushed out of their homes in the northern region of Indian-administered Kashmir.

In Dushanbe, capital of Tajikistan which borders northern Afghanistan, tremors were felt but there were no immediate reports of damage.

One man was killed in Pakistan’s mountainous northern region of Gilgit-Baltistan when he was hit by falling rocks in the town of Chilas, an official told AFP on condition of anonymity.

Authorities in Pakistan’s northwestern city of Peshawar said 28 people were brought to the government-run Lady Reading Hospital.

They were discharged after first aid, said spokesman Jamil Shah.

An official of the provincial disaster management authority in Peshawar said they have received reports of 12 other people injured in Swat, Bunair and upper Dir districts.

There were no casualties in Afghanistan according to an initial assessment, said Aslam Sayas, deputy director of the country’s disaster management authority.

Last October a 7.5-magnitude quake ripped across Pakistan and Afghanistan, killing almost 400 people and flattening buildings in rugged terrain that impeded relief efforts. – Rappler.com