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35 dead, hundreds injured in Pakistan following Iran quake
April 17, 2013, 9:05 am

[AP]

Army sources say several people are feared to be buried under rubble [AP]

At least 35 people were killed, over 180 others injured and hundreds of houses collapsed when a strong earthquake of 7.9 magnitude jolted parts of southern and southwest Pakistan on Tuesday, local officials said.

Arif Mahmood, director general of Pakistan’s Meteorological Office, said the earthquake hit Pakistan at 15:44:21 p.m. local time and lasted for about 20 to 25 seconds.

The epicentre of Tuesday’s quake lay in southeast Iran but most of the deaths reported so far have been across the border in Pakistan’s province of Baluchistan.

Mashkel village, located in Pakistan’s southwest Balochistan province, was badly affected by the earthquake, as at least 34 people were killed and over 150 others injured due to strong tremors.

The injured people were moved to a nearby hospital where several of them were reportedly in critical conditions.

Local media said that over 1,000 houses of the village and its adjacent areas which are home to over 35,000 people, collapsed as a result of the earthquake.

Army sources said that the earthquake razed hundreds of houses to ground and several people are feared to be buried under rubble.

With inputs from Xinhua