Islamabad Telegraph Report
Quetta: An earthquake of magnitude 5.9 struck parts of Balochistan in the wee hours of Thursday morning, killing as many as 20 people mostly children and injuring over 300 others.
The Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) of Balochistan confirmed the figure and said they were in touch with federal government for supply of medicine, surgeons and other equipment required by the hospitals.
According to the National Seismic Monitoring Centre, the earthquake was centred near the province’s Harnai district and had a depth of 15 kilometres.
It added the quake had a longitude of 67.96 east and a latitude of 30.08 north.
Tremors were felt in Quetta, Sibbi, Pishin, Muslim Bagh, Ziarat, Qila Abdullah, Sanjavi, Zhob and Chaman, the PDMA said in its initial report.
It further said the “exact damage” has not yet been confirmed.
Deputy Commissioner of Harnai District Sohail Anwar Hashmi confirmed to a correspondent of Islamabad Telegraph . that 20 people including six children were killed and above 300 were injured which were rushed ton hospitals where emergency has been declared. The injured, which include women and children, have been shifted to the District Headquarters Hospital in Harnai, he said.
Balochistan Chief Minister Jam Kamal Khan Alyani took to Twitter and announced what happened in the district of Harnai , He announced that assistance and evacuation efforts were under way.
“Blood, ambulances, emergency assistance, [helicopters] and rest all things are placed … All departments are working on it,” he tweeted.
In August, an earthquake of 3.1 magnitude had jolted Karachi. The tremors spread panic among locals, however, no casualties or damage was reported.
In June last year, an earthquake of 5.7 magnitude was recorded in several areas of KP, including the provincial capital Peshawar. Prior to that, another quake measuring 6.4 on the Richter scale had struck the northern areas of the country as well as Afghanistan. No significant loss to life and property was reported in either incident.
In September 2019, however, an earthquake had struck several areas of southern Azad Jammu and Kashmir, claiming the lives of 38 people and leaving hundreds of others injured.
