By Uzma Zafar
ISLAMABAD: A powerful 5.8-magnitude earthquake jolted several cities and northern parts of the country on Tuesday afternoon, leaving at least 26 people dead and over 300 injured, officials said.
The tremors lasted for 8-10 seconds and were felt strongly.
Prime Minister Imran Khan expressed grief over the losses and both he and Army Chief Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa directed for timely rescue and relief efforts to be carried out.
Occurring just after 4pm, the shallow quake hit 22.3 kilometres north of Jhelum along the boundary separating the agricultural heartland of Punjab and Azad Kashmir, according to the US Geological Survey.
“The quake was 10 kilometres deep and was felt in most of Punjab province, some parts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The worst hit was Mirpur, Azad Kashmir,” chief meteorologist Muhammad Riaz told. The cities where the tremors were felt included Islamabad, Mirpur, Peshawar, Rawalpindi, Lahore, Sialkot, Sargodha, Mansehra, Gujrat, Chitral, Malakand, Multan, Shangla, Bajaur, Swat, Sahiwal and Rahim Yar Khan.
Divisional Commissioner Chaudhry Muhammad Tayyab said at least eight people, three of them young children, were reported to have died and more than 100 others wounded due to the quake in Mirpur. Two of the victims were brought dead and the rest succumbed to their injuries in Divisional Headquarters Hospital Mirpur, he added.
