JEHLUM: At least one person was killed and 11 others were injured after several houses were seriously damaged following a reported earthquake in Jhelum’s Pind Dadan Khan tehsil on Tuesday, the area administration said.
According to Jhelum Deputy Commissioner Mir Reza Ozgen, the earthquake was reported in the Jalalpur Sharif area of Jhelum’s Pind Dadan Khan tehsil.
Ozgen said around 10 houses were seriously damaged in the earthquake and confirmed that at least one person had died in the incident.
According to a press release issued by the Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD), an earthquake measuring 4.8 on the scale was recorded at 7:06pm on Tuesday.
The quake had a depth of 12 kilometres, with its epicentre located 58 kilometres southwest of Jhelum at latitude 32.59 north and longitude 73.23 east, the release added.
“Police, rescue teams and the local administration are present at the site. Further search and assessment of the area is underway,” the DC said.
Assistant Commissioner Pind Dadan Khan Ayesha Shafqat said 12 victims were shifted to the Rural Health Centre in Jalalpur Sharif, and eight of them with multiple injuries were later moved to DHQ Hospital Jhelum.
In an earlier statement, Jhelum District Emergency Officer Farhan Mirza said Rescue 1122 received an emergency call at 7:09pm reporting that the first floor of a house had collapsed due to an earthquake, trapping several people under the debris in Pind Dadan Khan tehsil.
He added a Rescue 1122 team was dispatched immediately and reached the scene within eight minutes. “Upon arrival, they found that six people had been injured, while one teenage boy was found dead,” said the rescue official.
Residents said the earthquake was felt in Pind Dadan Khan’s Sagharpur, Daryala Jalip, Haranpur and Jaitypur areas. According to preliminary reports, Jalalpur Sharif and Pindi Saidpur were the worst-affected localities.
On May 4, tremors were felt in Islamabad and Rawalpindi after a 5.2-magnitude earthquake was reported.
According to the PMD, the earthquake was recorded at 10:56am. It added that the epicentre was located near the Tajikistan–Xinjiang border region and had a depth of 128 kilometres.
On April 3, an earthquake measuring 6.1 on the scale jolted parts of the country, with the PMD stating that the quake struck at 9:13pm at a depth of 190km, with the Hindu Kush Region in Afghanistan as its epicentre.
It said the shocks were felt in Islamabad, Chitral, Peshawar, Swat and Shangla.
Pakistan falls on three major tectonic plates — the Arabian, Euro-Asian and Indian — which create five seismic zones under the country. The intersection of multiple fault lines means that tectonic movements remain a frequent occurrence in the region.
