Five dead in Afghanistan, Pakistan after powerful quake

Kabul/Islamabad, March 22 Five people died in Afghanistan and Pakistan following a powerful earthquake measuring 6.5 on the Richter scale, which was also felt across north India.

According to the US Geological Survey, Tuesday night's earthquake struck 40 km southeast of Jurm town in Afghanistan's Badakhshan Province. It was 187.6 km deep, reports CNN.

Of the five fatalities, two were reported in Afghanistan's Laghman province, where at least eight more people were also injured, according to Shafiullah Rahimi, spokesman for the Ministry of Disaster Management.

Pakistan reported three deaths, including two children, according to Bilal Faizi, spokesperson for the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provincial rescue services.

A total of 41 people were injured in the province, Faizi said.

Ensuing landslides have also blocked roads in the city of Abbotabad as well as the Karakoram Highway in the Harban area of Kohistan, CNN quoted the spokesperson as saying.

Major Pakistani cities, including Rawal­pindi, Islamabad, Lahore, Mansehra, Abbottabad, Muzaffarabad, Peshawar, Haripur, Mardan, Chitral, Charsadda, also felt the quake.

Videos from Islamabad show panic-stricken people, especially those living in high-rises, rushing out of their homes, reports Dawn news.

According to initial reports, cracks appeared in the Al-Janaat Mall in Rawalpindi and buildings in Islamabad.