KARACHI, Oct 8: Communications networks of the Pakistan Telecommunication Company and cellphone firms became choked as news of a massive earthquake pummelling Islamabad and Northern Areas on Saturday morning spread throughout the country.

The PTCL network was worst hit as the concerned citizens calling calamity-affected areas from Karachi always got an engaged tone on their phones.

The earthquake, measuring 7.6 on the Richter Scale, struck at 0850 PST and was centred in the mountains of Kashmir, near the Indian border, about 95km northeast of Islamabad.

“I was most concerned about my relatives in Islamabad. I started to make calls to them from 9.30am onwards. Much to my consternation, every time I called I got an engaged tone. Then I called the Clifton exchange to find out why there network had choked. An official of the PTCL told me that their lines were choked and they had no idea when we would be able to get through,” he said.

However, a spokesman for the PTCL said except for brief choking in the morning, telephone lines in Karachi were operating smoothly. He said damage to PTCL installations could be the cause for a breakdown of communications networks across the country.

Communications networks of the cellphone companies also remained choked. A representative of a cellphone firm said in case of emergency, people should make only as many calls as they must. He added they should avoid making unnecessary calls which choked the network.

CABLE DAMAGED: Meanwhile, some 1,000 telephones went out of order when nine cables of the PTCL were damaged during the ongoing work at the Schon Circle underpass on Saturday, adds PPI.