Earthquake strikes south-western Pakistan (2nd Roundup)

Jan 19, 2011, 5:50 GMT

Islamabad - A major earthquake struck early Wednesday in south-western Pakistan, causing residents to flee their houses in panic.

Around a dozen people were injured as their mud houses collapsed, and two women died of cardiac arrest during the quake, broadcaster Geo TV reported.

The epicentre of the 7.3-magnitude quake was around 50 kilometres west of Dalbandin, a town in the sparsely populated Baluchistan province that borders both Afghanistan and Iran, the Meteorological Department said.

In the southern port city of Karachi, 600 kilometres to the south-east, thousands fled their homes as their felt the earthquake, spending the night outside in fear of aftershocks.

Television footage showed people reciting verses from the Koran and asking God for forgiveness.

'I was drinking tea when the whole house started to shake,' said Mohammad Ramdan, a construction worker in Quetta, the capital of Baluchistan. 'My God, it was so terrifying. I took my two children and wife and left the house.'

The US Geological Survey (USGS) estimated the magnitude at 7.2.

The quake was at a depth of 84 kilometres, and struck at 1:23 am Wednesday (2023 GMT Tuesday), the USGS said.

Pakistan's chief meteorologist Mohammad Riaz said that there were very few losses despite the magnitude because the epicentre of the quake was quite deep and located in a thinly populated region.

CNN reported that tremors were felt as far away as New Delhi.

The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said the quake was too far inland to have generated a tsunami.

In October 2005, an earthquake measuring 7.6 on the Richter scale struck in northern Pakistan at a depth of 26 kilometres, killing more than 70,000 people.

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