Earthquake hits northern Pakistan, Afghanistan, India (1st Lead)

Oct 23, 2009, 7:34 GMT

   Islamabad - A strong earthquake rattled northern Pakistan, Afghanistan and northern India Friday.

   The quake had a magnitude of 6.2 to 6.4 on the Richter scale, and its epicenter was in the high-altitude Hindu Kush at a depth of about 180 kilometres, Pakistan authorities said.

   There were no immediate reports of casualties or serious damage, but word of any damage in the remote, mountainous parts of the affected countries could be slow to reach the outside world.

   Pakistani broadcaster GEO TV reported that frightened people were seen running into the streets of major cities, including Islamabad, Rawalpindi, Peshawar and Lahore.

   Buildings shook during the earthquake in Kabul, Arabic broadcaster al-Jazeera reported from the Afghan capital.

   The temblor also hit India's northern state of Jammu and Kashmir, causing panic but no casualties or damage.

   Residents of the border town of Uri in Baramulla, 80 kilometres west of state capital Srinagar, rushed out of their homes and did not return for a couple of hours out of fear of aftershocks.

   The area had suffered extensive damage in an earthquake in October 2005, which claimed at least 1,300 lives.

   'Doors and windows rattled as homes swayed, but there was relief as soon as the earth stopped shaking,' a local, Rafiq Dar, said in Srinagar.