ISLAMABAD: Two Pak­istanis died and 22 others were injured when a 6.2 magnitude earthquake struck Afghanistan on Wed­nesday, hours after three milder tremors rattled parts of the two countries.

Two of the quakes originated in Balochistan and the other two in the mountains of Afghanistan. Tremors were also felt in parts of India.

A minor girl died and 11 people were injured as two mud-houses collapsed in Lasbela district of Balo­chistan.

A man died and nine were injured in the chaos created by the quake in Swat valley of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Two schoolgirls were injured in a stampede in Peshawar.

Reports of tremors were received from Islamabad, Chitral, Dir, Lahore, Faisal­abad, Abbottabad, Manse­hra, Chiniot, Jhang, Sargodha etc.

While the quakes of Balochistan originated at a shallow depth of 15 and 23 kilometres, the shaking of the earth in the Hindu Kush region in Afghanistan was significantly deeper.

The details provided by the Met Office said that the first earthquake of 4.9 magnitude occurred at 4:58am with its epicentre at around 20km east of Bela and the second of 3.5 magnitude happened one hour later at 5:59am originating from 18km east of Bela.

About another hour later at 7:07am the third quake originated in the Hindu Kush region of Afghanistan, but most of northern and central Pakistan was terrified by the quake at 12:07pm. This 6.2 magnitude earthquake originated at 169km underground, close to the epicentre of the first quake.

Incidentally, five earthquakes with their magnitude ranging from 3.7 to 4.7 had originated around the same region on Jan 26, 27, 28 and 29.

Following the 6.2 magnitude earthquake on Wednesday noon, the Met Office issued a warning that aftershocks of minor intensity were also expected.

“At the same time snowfall is continuing in north-western parts of Chitral and Afghanistan, and due to aftershocks there is a high risk of avalanches in snowcapped areas of Hindu Kush,” the Met Office has said.

It has advised the authorities concerned and general public to remain vigilant.

Some parts of Awaran district also felt jolts forcing people to rush out of their houses. Some mud-houses collapsed on the outskirts of Bela and walls of many buildings developed cracks. The 300-years-old Shahi Masjid of Bela was badly damaged.

Soon after receiving information about the damage and casualties, security forces and officials of local administration rushed to the affected areas started a rescue operation.

“Rescue workers recovered the body of a minor girl and the injured people from the debris of the collapsed mud-houses,” Lasbela Deputy Commissioner Shabbir Ahmed Mengal said, adding that the injured and the body were shifted to the District Hospital in Bela.

He said two women with serious injuries had been referred to a Karachi hospital.

The local administration declared emergency and schools were immediately closed.

In Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, a man collapsed while running out of a hotel in Mingora. Later he was found dead and rescue workers believed that he might have suffered a heart attack.

Nine other people were injured during chaos stirred by the quake in different areas of Swat valley. They were taken to Saidu Sharif Teaching Hospital but were discharged after being administered first aid.

In Peshawar, two girls received minor injuries during a stampede in a school when earthquake shook the city and its adjacent areas.

TV footage showed people in Islamabad fleeing offices and schools in panic, AP reports.

Rana Hamid Ali, who works at a private company, said when the quake hit he started running towards the stairs instead of using the elevator to get out of the building.

“We were doing routine work in our office when a strong earthquake suddenly rattled our building and we came down through the stairs, there was no time to wait for the elevator,” he said.

In Afghanistan, there were no immediate reports of any serious damage or casualties.

The quake was felt in Kabul, and an official said at least three people were injured when a wall collapsed in a village in north-eastern Badakhshan province near the border with Pakistan.

Shahid from Quetta, Fazal Khaliq from Mingora and Zulfiqar Ali from Peshawar also contributed to this report.

Published in Dawn, February 1st, 2018