Afghanistan Earthquake: 1 Dead as Jolts Felt in Pakistan

Local Editor

A strong earthquake has hit the Hindu Kush mountain range in Afghanistan, causing casualties in the country and in neighboring Pakistan.

A girl was killed and at least 15 others injured in various parts of Pakistan as a result of the January 31 quake, the newspaper Dawn reported.

At least three people were injured in the northeastern Afghan province of Badakhshan, according to Gul Mohammad Bedar, the provincial deputy governor.

The US Geological Survey said the 6.1 magnitude earthquake struck in the Hindu Kush mountain range in Afghanistan.

Its epicenter of was 35 kilometers south of Jarm in the northeastern corner of Afghanistan near the Tajik border, at a depth of 191 kilometers.

Reports said the quake was felt in Kabul, Dushanbe, Islamabad, and New Delhi.

The Pakistani girl was killed and at least five others injured when roofs collapsed on mud-brick homes in the village of Lasbela in the southwestern province of Balochistan, local officials said.

TV footage showed people fleeing offices and schools in panic in Islamabad and elsewhere in Pakistan.

Afghanistan is frequently hit by earthquakes, especially in the Hindu Kush mountain range, which lies near the junction of the Eurasian and Indian tectonic plates.

A 7.5-magnitude earthquake rocked the region in October 2015, killing more than 400 people and leaving several thousand homeless in Afghanistan, Pakistan, and India.

Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team