Nine people were killed and more than 160 were injured on Tuesday after a 6.8-magnitude earthquake struck areas of Pakistan, according to reports from the area's media outlets. According to the Pakistan Meteorological Service, the earthquake had a depth of 180 kilometres and had its epicentre in the Hindu Kush area of Afghanistan.
The earthquake was felt throughout the nation, including in Lahore, Islamabad, Rawalpindi, Quetta, Peshawar, Kohat, Lakki Marwat, and many other places.
Local media also recorded strong earthquakes in the cities of Gujranwala, Gujrat, Sialkot, Kot Momin, Madh Ranjha, Chakwal, Kohat, and Gilgit-Baltistan. People were seen running out into the streets in terror on television reports.
Geo News quotes officials as saying that nine people, including two women, were murdered and over 160 were wounded as a result of the earthquake, which also caused the collapse of several structures.
According to The Express Tribune, a stampede occurred in Rawalpindi during the earthquake.
According to the official Pakistani news agency Associated Press of Pakistan, Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif has instructed disaster management personnel to be on high alert at all times.
Federal Health Minister Abdul Qadir Patel reportedly ordered an emergency to be declared at hospitals throughout the nation's capital, and the situation is ongoing.
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India, Afghanistan, Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, China, and Kyrgyzstan, in addition to Pakistan, felt the earthquakes, as reported by the International Seismological Centre. Pakistan often experiences earthquakes.
Islamabad was hit with a 6.3-magnitude earthquake in January. More than 74,000 people were killed in the country's worst earthquake in 2005.
