Pakistan: at least 20 killed in earthquake

In Pakistan, at least 20 people were killed and more than 200 injured when an earthquake struck southern part of the country.Disaster Management Authority Director General Naseer Nasir said on Thursday. The earthquake with a magnitude of 5.7 struck in the early hours of Thursday while people were sleeping. Rescue workers said the dead were mostly women and children.The quake was relatively shallow at 20 kms (12 miles) with an epicentre 102 km (62 miles) east of Quetta, said the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS)  Stunned residents rushed from their houses in the dark. The injured were rushed to hospital.

More than 100 mud houses collapsed and a large number were damaged, including government buildings. Hundreds of people were rendered homeless, Sohail Anwar, deputy commissioner in the city of Harnai. The worst-affected area was the remote mountainous city of Harnai, in Balochistan, where a lack of paved roads, electricity, and mobile phone coverage has hampered the rescue effort. The earthquake was also felt in Balochistan's provincial capital Quetta.