A damaged house in Srinagar from the strong tremors left in North India.
Highlights
- Earthquake hit parts of Pakistan and Afghanistan-Tajikistan border
- Four injured in Pakistan. Tremors felt in Peshawar, Swat, Gilgit, Lahore
- Tremors also felt in Delhi NCR, Kashmir and Uttarakhand
A powerful earthquake of 6.8 magnitude struck parts of Pakistan and the Afghanistan-Tajikistan border in the Hindukush region. The tremors killed at least six people, reported the Press Trust of India.
The quake struck at 3.58 pm and went on for several minutes. Its epicentre lay 39 km from Ashkasham and 282 km northeast of Kabul, in Afghanistan.
The impact was the strongest across a 200 km area, according to data from European Mediterranean Seismological Centre.
In Pakistan, six persons have died and at least four have been injured. Radio Pakistan reported that strong tremors were felt across Peshawar, Chitral, Swat, Gilgit, Faisalabad and Lahore.
The epicentre was around 282 km northeast of Kabul.
Residents left their homes in Kabul and Islamabad when the quake struck and buildings swayed for well over a minute in both capitals. Similar reports were received from across northern and central Pakistan.
In Kabul, Omar Mohammadi, a spokesman for the Afghanistan National Disaster Management Authority, said officials were collecting information but no reports of casualties or damage had been received so far, reported news agency Reuters.
Tremors were felt across north India, including Delhi and National Capital Region, Kashmir and Uttarakhand. The metro rail service in Delhi was halted for a few minutes following the quake as a precautionary measure.
The Hindukush area, bordering Pakistan and Afghanistan, is a seismically active area, with quakes often felt across the region.
A 7.5-magnitude quake struck the area on October 26, 2015, killing more than 300 people and destroying thousands of homes.
Just over a decade ago, a 7.6-magnitude quake in another part of northern Pakistan had killed around 75,000 people.