160 dead as quake rocks South Asia
Print Edition
MORE than 160 people, including 12 Afghan girls crushed in a stampede as they fled their collapsing school, were killed yesterday when a magnitude 7.5 earthquake rocked parts of South Asia.
At least 1,000 others were injured and hundreds of homes were destroyed as the huge quake shook a swathe of the subcontinent, sending thousands of frightened people rushing into the streets in Afghanistan, Pakistan and India.
It was centered near Jurm in northeast Afghanistan, 250 kilometers from the capital Kabul and at a depth of 213.5km, the United States Geological Survey said.
“Initial reports show a big loss of life, huge financial losses in Badakhshan, Takhar, Nangarhar, Kunar and other regions, including the capital Kabul,” said Afghanistan’s chief executive Abdullah Abdullah.
At least 31 people were confirmed dead in Afghanistan, and 135 in Pakistan, according to officials, who said the toll is expected to rise.
“Exact numbers are not known because phone lines are down and communication has been cut off in many areas,” Abdullah said, adding that the government has asked aid agencies for relief.
“The quake wreaked huge devastation in some districts,” said Shah Wali Adib, governor of Badakhshan province.
“So far, 1,500 homes are reported to have been damaged or destroyed,” he said.
The epicenter was just a few hundred kilometers from the site of a size 7.6 quake that hit in October 2005, killing more than 75,000 people and displacing 3.5 million more, though that tremor was much shallower.
Horrifying news emerged of at least 12 schoolgirls being trampled to death in a northern Afghan province.
“The students rushed to escape the school building in Taluqan (capital of Takhar), triggering a stampede,” said Enayat Naweed, Takhar’s education department chief.
“Twelve students, all minors, were killed and 35 others were injured,” he said.
The earthquake, which lasted at least a minute, shook buildings in Kabul, Islamabad and New Delhi.
At least 31 people were killed in Afghanistan including the 12 schoolgirls, officials said.
The toll included nine in Badakhshan province near the epicentre, eight in Nangarhar province bordering Pakistan, and at least two in northern Baghlan province, according to local officials.
At least 135 people were killed in Pakistan, according to local and provincial officials.
The military put the death toll at 123 with 956 injured, while the National Disaster Management Authority put the number of fatalities at 43, but said it was checking unconfirmed reports of more deaths.
One aftershock hit shortly afterward, with the USGS putting its magnitude at 4.8. In a prediction on its website, it said there was a one-third chance of the number of fatalities climbing to between 100 and 1,000, with several million dollars’ worth of damage likely caused.
The rescue effort was being complicated by the lack of communications, with the region’s fragile infrastructure hit.
Gul Mohammad Bidar, deputy governor of Badakhshan in Afghanistan, said lines were down and it was difficult to reach stricken communities.
“Buildings have been damaged and there are possible casualties,” he said.
Pakistan mobilized its troops and military hospitals are on high alert, said army spokesman Lieutenant General Asim Bajwa said, adding that specialized earthquake rescue machinery and army helicopters were being readied for use.
The Pakistan air force said it was offering full support to the National Disaster Management Authority.
Arbab Muhammad Asim, district mayor for Pakistan’s northwestern city of Peshawar, said more than 100 people had been injured there alone.
“Many houses and buildings have collapsed in the city,” he said.
Dr Muhammad Sadiq, head of emergency services at a government hospital in Peshawar, said the injured were still being brought in.
“Many people are still under rubble,” he said.
“I have never seen such a massive earthquake in my life, it was huge,” said 87-year-old Mohammad Rehman from Peshawar.
Traffic came to a halt in downtown Kabul, with frightened people getting out of their cars as they waited for the quake to stop.
Restaurants and office buildings emptied in Islamabad, with cracks appearing in some buildings but no major damage reported.
Hundreds of people in northern India poured out of office blocks, hospitals and even their homes in search of safety on the streets.
Delhi’s subway ground to a halt during the tremor, though the airport continued operating.
In the Kashmir region, panicked residents evacuated buildings, while groups of children were seen huddling together outside their school in the main city of Srinagar.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi took to Twitter immediately after the earthquake hit.
“Heard about strong earthquake in the Afghanistan-Pakistan region whose tremors have been felt in parts of India,” he wrote.
“I pray for everyone’s safety,” he said, adding that India was standing ready to offer assistance to those who need it, including the people of Afghanistan and Pakistan.
Afghanistan is frequently hit by earthquakes, especially in the Hindu Kush mountain range, which lies near the junction of the Eurasian and Indian tectonic plates.
South Asia’s quakes occur along a major fault line between the two plates — one under India pushing north and east at a rate of about 2 centimeters a year against the other, which carries Europe and Asia.
In Nepal, more than 8,900 people were killed in twin earthquakes in May, which also triggered landslides and destroyed half a million homes.
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