Pakistan India border rocked by monster earthquake – mass damage as '8 killed, 100 hurt'

Reports rom the scene described widespread damage with buildings destroyed and roads ripped up in the quake. The Unites States Geoligical survey said the quake struck 14 miles north of Jhelum at a relatively shallow depth of six miles. Officials have confirmed eight fatalities.

District commissioner Mohammad Tayyab said eight people were killed, including three children. District police chief Irfan Saleem said more than 100 more suffered injuries.

He said: ”I am in the hospital right now and I am being told that several of the injured people are in a critical condition.”

Major General Asif Ghafoor, a spokesman for the Pakistan Armed Forces, said troops with aviation and medical support teams had been dispatched.

Raja Farooq Haider, prime minister of Pakistan’s Azad Kashmir region, said: “Our whole concentration right now is to accelerate the rescue operation.

“There are people who are stuck there and who need immediate help. We are putting in all our resources to get people the best of our help.”

Lieutenant General Mohammad Afzal, Pakistan’s National Disaster Management Authority chief, said: “The most damage is in areas between Jhelum and Mirpur.

“So far we have reports of the death of a girl child and injuries to nearly 50 people.”

Jhelum is located in northeastern Pakistan roughly 75 miles southeast of that Pakistani capital Islamabad. Mirpur is on Pakistan’s side of the disputed territory of Kashmir.

Tremors were felt in Delhi, Chandigarh, Kashmir and parts of Himachal in northern India as well as several towns in Pakistan, including Islamabad, Lahore and the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa range.

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source: express.co.uk