A strong quake of 6.4 magnitude hit Balochistan Wednesday, killing above 190 people and injured hundred others and caused massive destruction, officials and witnesses said.
Officials said the deadly quake struck shortly before dawn on Wednesday followed by aftershock hours later at 5:32pm, nearly 60 kilometres northeast of Quetta.
Towns and villages in the Ziarat district appeared to be the worst-hit area. The cities and towns struck by the tremor included Pishin, Qila Abdullah, Chaman, Loralai, Sibbi and Mastung, rural areas all lying close to border with Afghanistan. According to news channels the shocks from the quake were felt in the Kandahar province of Afghanistan.
District naib nazim Ziarat Momin Khan Dummar told media persons that death toll can cross a figure of 190 as rescue teams have rushed volunteers to some villages where dozens of people are buried under debris collapsed houses.
"I personally visited Wam, Kann and other areas where 28 people of only two families had perished under debris" he said adding that reports coming from Killi Sra Kheizai "are dreadful where scores of inhabitants are still under debris".
The nazim added that it was difficult to find out the real figure at this moment as most of the dead had already been buried by the locals.
Killi Khoshab in Khanozai had been destroyed completely by the morning earthquake.
In the meantime, medical teams of Pak-Army, FC, Health Department continued treating those who sustained injuries in the Ziarat district hospital.
The army helicopters shifted 16 serious injured to the CMH Quetta and also rushed a dozen of volunteers to Killi Sra Kheizai for rescue and relief operations.
An operation room headed by AIG Mujahid Awais has been established to provide relief to the earthquake victims.
The administration has initiated relief and rescue operations and emergency has been declared in hospitals.
In Ziarat 47 persons have been killed and around 57 were wounded, locals said.
According locals three jolts of the quake were felt in Balochistan including a 6.5 tremor.
After strong earthquake people were advised through mosque loud speakers to quit their houses and go to open places.
Chief Minister of Baluchistan Aslam Raeesani has declared emergency in the hospitals and all staff has been directed to call their respective hospitals.
"Initial reports suggest that areas of Quetta, Sibi, Bolan, Chaman, Mastung, Qilla Abdullah and Qalat were trembled in the seismic activity," officials said.
Dilawar Kakar, nazim of Ziarat, said that hundreds of others had been injured in the tremor and perhaps 15,000 left homeless and in need of help.
"Rescue efforts are being made by the villagers themselves but what we need is a larger operation by the government," he said.
A local police official, Muhammad Ghayas, said that dozens of government buildings and mud-brick houses had been destroyed in Ziarat. Wam Kaley, one of the affected villages, was almost completely destroyed, with houses buried in landslides triggered by the quake.
Later wailing villagers dug through rubble with their bare hands in a desperate search for loved ones missing since a devastating quake struck Wam village.
Aftershocks continued to pummell the area as army soldiers, local Red Crescent volunteers and other non-governmental organisations picked through the shattered remains of the village and medical teams treated the wounded, locals said.
Scores of cars and motorbikes thronged Wam, about 50 kilometres of the historic hill town of Ziarat, as people rushed in from adjoining cities and towns frantic to know the fate of their loved ones.
Many survivors were wailing and shouting the names of their relatives as they dug through the debris.
Nearby peaks in the mountainous region bordering Afghanistan were seen spewing dust, causing fresh fear and panic among locals.
More than 200 wounded have been taken to hospitals in Quetta and elsewhere, officials and volunteers said.
For survivors, relief began to trickle into the Wam village despite the overland route being all but impassable after the quake left huge cracks in the main 50-kilometre road from Quetta to Ziarat and sent massive boulders crashing down from the mountains.
Food was being served to survivors in a hastily-erected tent after four military helicopters flew into the area with relief supplies.
"We were fast asleep at the time of quake and when awakened by the shocks we took no time to come out of our houses," said Wahidullah, a resident of Quetta.
Another senior official in Ziarat, Sohail-ur-Rehman, said authorities were scrambling to help about 12,000 homeless people and to bury the dead.
"Graves are being dug with excavators as we can't keep dead bodies in the open," Rehman said.
The head of a national disaster management team, Farooq Ahmed Khan, said about 300 rescue workers had reached Ziarat. Tents, blankets and clothing were being flown in.
Officials and hospital staff said scores of people had been injured, most when houses collapsed or in the panic when people rushed from their homes.
Quetta resident Amjad Hussain said there had been panic in the city.
"There were two tremors, the second one was serious and people rushed out of their houses," Hussain said.
Wednesday's earthquake was the deadliest since a magnitude 7.6 temblor struck Azad Kashmir, Mansehra and other northern regions on October 8, 2005, killing over 80 thousand people and injuring thousands of others.
In 1935 a devastating quake destroyed most of Quetta, killing more than 30 thousand people.
Compensation announced
Officials said the deadly quake struck shortly before dawn on Wednesday followed by aftershock hours later at 5:32pm, nearly 60 kilometres northeast of Quetta.
Towns and villages in the Ziarat district appeared to be the worst-hit area. The cities and towns struck by the tremor included Pishin, Qila Abdullah, Chaman, Loralai, Sibbi and Mastung, rural areas all lying close to border with Afghanistan. According to news channels the shocks from the quake were felt in the Kandahar province of Afghanistan.
District naib nazim Ziarat Momin Khan Dummar told media persons that death toll can cross a figure of 190 as rescue teams have rushed volunteers to some villages where dozens of people are buried under debris collapsed houses.
"I personally visited Wam, Kann and other areas where 28 people of only two families had perished under debris" he said adding that reports coming from Killi Sra Kheizai "are dreadful where scores of inhabitants are still under debris".
The nazim added that it was difficult to find out the real figure at this moment as most of the dead had already been buried by the locals.
Killi Khoshab in Khanozai had been destroyed completely by the morning earthquake.
In the meantime, medical teams of Pak-Army, FC, Health Department continued treating those who sustained injuries in the Ziarat district hospital.
The army helicopters shifted 16 serious injured to the CMH Quetta and also rushed a dozen of volunteers to Killi Sra Kheizai for rescue and relief operations.
An operation room headed by AIG Mujahid Awais has been established to provide relief to the earthquake victims.
The administration has initiated relief and rescue operations and emergency has been declared in hospitals.
In Ziarat 47 persons have been killed and around 57 were wounded, locals said.
According locals three jolts of the quake were felt in Balochistan including a 6.5 tremor.
After strong earthquake people were advised through mosque loud speakers to quit their houses and go to open places.
Chief Minister of Baluchistan Aslam Raeesani has declared emergency in the hospitals and all staff has been directed to call their respective hospitals.
"Initial reports suggest that areas of Quetta, Sibi, Bolan, Chaman, Mastung, Qilla Abdullah and Qalat were trembled in the seismic activity," officials said.
Dilawar Kakar, nazim of Ziarat, said that hundreds of others had been injured in the tremor and perhaps 15,000 left homeless and in need of help.
"Rescue efforts are being made by the villagers themselves but what we need is a larger operation by the government," he said.
A local police official, Muhammad Ghayas, said that dozens of government buildings and mud-brick houses had been destroyed in Ziarat. Wam Kaley, one of the affected villages, was almost completely destroyed, with houses buried in landslides triggered by the quake.
Later wailing villagers dug through rubble with their bare hands in a desperate search for loved ones missing since a devastating quake struck Wam village.
Aftershocks continued to pummell the area as army soldiers, local Red Crescent volunteers and other non-governmental organisations picked through the shattered remains of the village and medical teams treated the wounded, locals said.
Scores of cars and motorbikes thronged Wam, about 50 kilometres of the historic hill town of Ziarat, as people rushed in from adjoining cities and towns frantic to know the fate of their loved ones.
Many survivors were wailing and shouting the names of their relatives as they dug through the debris.
Nearby peaks in the mountainous region bordering Afghanistan were seen spewing dust, causing fresh fear and panic among locals.
More than 200 wounded have been taken to hospitals in Quetta and elsewhere, officials and volunteers said.
For survivors, relief began to trickle into the Wam village despite the overland route being all but impassable after the quake left huge cracks in the main 50-kilometre road from Quetta to Ziarat and sent massive boulders crashing down from the mountains.
Food was being served to survivors in a hastily-erected tent after four military helicopters flew into the area with relief supplies.
"We were fast asleep at the time of quake and when awakened by the shocks we took no time to come out of our houses," said Wahidullah, a resident of Quetta.
Another senior official in Ziarat, Sohail-ur-Rehman, said authorities were scrambling to help about 12,000 homeless people and to bury the dead.
"Graves are being dug with excavators as we can't keep dead bodies in the open," Rehman said.
The head of a national disaster management team, Farooq Ahmed Khan, said about 300 rescue workers had reached Ziarat. Tents, blankets and clothing were being flown in.
Officials and hospital staff said scores of people had been injured, most when houses collapsed or in the panic when people rushed from their homes.
Quetta resident Amjad Hussain said there had been panic in the city.
"There were two tremors, the second one was serious and people rushed out of their houses," Hussain said.
Wednesday's earthquake was the deadliest since a magnitude 7.6 temblor struck Azad Kashmir, Mansehra and other northern regions on October 8, 2005, killing over 80 thousand people and injuring thousands of others.
In 1935 a devastating quake destroyed most of Quetta, killing more than 30 thousand people.
Compensation announced
Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gillani on Wednesday announced a monetary compensation of Rs 300,000 for the survivors of each deceased person and Rs100,000 for the seriously injured.
Gilani directed the Cabinet Division and National Disaster Management Authority to carry out relief work expeditiously, monitor relief activities in all affected areas and keep him posted on the estimates of damage to life and property.
The Prime Minister, who is currently visiting Turkey, spoke to Governor Balochistan Nawab Zulfiqar Ali Magsi over telephone and asked the provincial government to ensure provision of proper free medical care to the injured as well as relief goods like tents, blankets and food items.
He also assured that federal government would provide all necessary relief supplies to affected people.
15,000 people displaced
Gilani directed the Cabinet Division and National Disaster Management Authority to carry out relief work expeditiously, monitor relief activities in all affected areas and keep him posted on the estimates of damage to life and property.
The Prime Minister, who is currently visiting Turkey, spoke to Governor Balochistan Nawab Zulfiqar Ali Magsi over telephone and asked the provincial government to ensure provision of proper free medical care to the injured as well as relief goods like tents, blankets and food items.
He also assured that federal government would provide all necessary relief supplies to affected people.
15,000 people displaced
As many as 15,000 people have been displaced as a result of the earthquake, provincial minister for forests and wildlife Maulvi Abdul Samad Akhundzada told a news conference here on Wednesday.
The minister said that district Ziarat was badly affected from the earthquake while people of other parts including Pashin, Zob, Qila Abdullah, Khanzoi and Khan Bangla also suffered huge loss of life and property.
Though it was difficult to find out the real figure of casualties at this moment, however 190 deaths have been confirmed so far, plus we have reports about destruction of 1,500 houses, he added.
He said that Balochistan government was all out to support the victim families and Chief Minister Aslam Raisani had reached the affected areas immediate after receiving the information.
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