At least 12 people, including three children, were killed and several others injured when buildings collapsed in Balochistan province of southwest Pakistan today during a massive 7.9 Richter scale earthquake that was felt across the region.
The twelve deaths were recorded in the remote Panjgur and Kharan districts of Balochistan, state—run Radio Pakistan reported.
TV news channels quoted security officials as saying that three children and two women were killed when several buildings collapsed in Mashkel area of Kharan.
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In Karachi, several persons were injured when a building collapsed.
Over 1‚000 houses were partially damaged in Balochistan, state—run media reported.
The high—intensity earthquake measuring 7.9 on the Richter scale rattled several parts of Pakistan, including Karachi, Hyderabad and Quetta cities.
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The strongest tremors were felt in the southern and southwestern parts of the country.
The epicentre of the quake was in Iran, where state—run Press TV reported at least 40 people had died.
The quake was also felt in India, United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia.
The Pakistan Meteorological Department said the epicentre of the quake‚ which occurred at 3.44 pm‚ was in Iran near the border with Pakistan.
The depth of the quake was about 15.5 km.