Two killed, 60 inured as strong earthquake jolts Pakistan

A man surveys a wall of his house after it was damaged by an earthquake in Peshawar, Pakistan, December 26, 2015.[photo/Agencies]

ISLAMABAD-- At least two people were killed and 60 others injured when a 6.9-magnitude earthquake hit parts of Pakistan early Saturday, local media and officials said.

The Geo News said a woman was killed and her four family members were injured in a quake-triggered landslide in Ghazar town in the country's north Gilgit area.

Local TV channel 24 News said a soldier was killed when the roof of a check post collapsed in the northwest tribal area of Mohmand Agency.

Some 56 people were injured in the country's northwest Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province which was the worst-hit in the tumbler that also rattled the capital of Islamabad, east Punjab province and northwest tribal areas.

The report added that most of the casualties were reported from the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa's capital of Peshawar, where at least 37 people, including women and children, were injured.

Provincial authorities have declared a state of emergency in all the three major hospitals in Peshawar and also in neighboring Nowshera district to facilitate the injured people.

The quake also caused landslide at Karakoram Highway in Gilgit Baltistan area, partly blocking it, the National Highway Authority said, adding that they were clearing the road to resume the traffic.

Ghulam Rasool, director general of the Pakistan Meteorological Department, said the quake's focal depth was determined at 197 km in the Hindukush mountain range along the Afghanistan-Tajikistan border.

Meanwhile, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) said that the earthquake's magnitude was 6.2 and its focal depth was 203 km in Ashkasham area of Afghanistan.

Commenting on the difference of the intensity, Rasool said the USGS monitored the earthquake situation from the American continent and they did not have any station in Pakistan.

Pakistan lies on the earthquake fault line due to which the local meteorological office keeps a close check on the seismic activity and has its bases in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province which enable them to give a more accurate report about the earthquake as compared to the USGS, he added.

Disaster management authority of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province said they were contacting their sub-offices in various districts to check possible damages caused by the quake.

The National Disaster Management Authority advised the residents to stay alert in the coming few days due to the prediction of possible aftershocks.

Saturday's earthquake hit the country two months after an 8.1-magnitude tumbler jolted the country, killing 279 people and injuring hundreds others.