On Wednesday, aftershocks of Tuesday’s massive earthquake in the Iranian province of Sistan-Baluchestan kept people in the bordering Balochistan on tenterhooks. Hundreds there have been rendered homeless awaited relief.
A day after the quake, Iran has officially reported no fatalities. However, as on evening evening, 35 have been reported dead in Pakistan and 150 injured, as per numbers provided by the National Disaster Management Authority. Much of the damage was in Mashkel tehsil of the Washuk district.
The military had been pressed into rescue and relief operations immediately. According to the Inter Services Public Relations, troops of the Frontier Corps (FC) located in the area were immediately tasked by Southern Command Headquarters to undertake operations and provide medical treatment.
Additional FC troops were moved from Kharan while Army helicopters were flown in with supplies and to airlift critically injured people to the Combined Military Hospital in Quetta. The provincial administration was also ferrying relief material from Quetta to the remote area of Pakistan’s largest province.
Media reports from Mashkel said power supply had collapsed as the area used to get its electricity from Iran. From Tuesday evening, the Jamat-ud-Da’wah announced it was sending relief material to the affected area and also put out an appeal for more material.