At least 20 dead as houses collapse in Pakistan earthquake | Al Jazeera

At least 20 people have been killed after an earthquake struck Pakistan’s southwestern province of Balochistan, local officials said, with rescue teams attempting to clear debris and gain access to the area.

The 5.7 magnitude earthquake struck as most residents of the Harnai district, about 100km (60 miles) east of the provincial capital Quetta, were asleep at just past 3am local time (22:00 GMT) on Thursday, according to United States Geological Survey data. The tremor took place at a depth of about 20 kilometres (12 miles).

“At least 20 people have been killed and we are estimating that about 100 are injured,” provincial minister Zia Langove told Al Jazeera by telephone.

Langove said that rescue efforts had been hampered due to landslides caused by the earthquake having blocked roads in the area.

“There has been quite a lot of landsliding, and teams are currently working to clear the roads to the area,” Langove said. Rescue officials will be able to conduct a more accurate assessment of the damage once they have access to the area, he added. 

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 Magnitude    Mw 5.7
Region    PAKISTAN
Date time    2021-10-06 22:01:08.7 UTC
Location    30.20 N ; 68.06 E
Depth    10 km
Distances    102 km ENE of Quetta, Pakistan / pop: 733,000 / local time: 03:01:08.7 2021-10-07
16 km NE of Harnai, Pakistan / pop: 11,000 / local time: 03:01:08.7 2021-10-07

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