At least 24 people were killed and 450 injured in an earthquake that hit Pakistani Kashmir, local officials said on Wednesday, but they added that rescue work was in full swing and panic was subsiding.
Tuesday’s earthquake levelled homes and shops and split open roads in an area between the towns of Jhelum and Mirpur to the north, which is in Pakistan’s portion of the disputed territory of Kashmir.
Most of the damage happened in villages where old houses collapsed.
People inspect a damaged road a day after a 5.8-magnitude earthquake, in Mirpur, Kashmir, Pakistan, 25 September 2019. According to reports at least 24people have been killed and over 300 injured, after an earthquake hit Kashmir and areas in Punjab province in Pakistan on 24 September 2019. EPA-EFE/RAHAT DAR
Many people from the area slept outdoors overnight and some were returning home on Wednesday morning to collect belongings and inspect damage, according to a Reuters witness.
A man inspects a damaged road a day after a 5.8-magnitude earthquake, in Mirpur, Kashmir, Pakistan, 25 September 2019. EPA-EFE/RAHAT DAR
Troops and other emergency responders carried out rescue operations through the night, with engineers starting repair work on a key roadway that was severely damaged, the Pakistan Army’s communications arm said. Three bridges were damaged.
The military had earlier estimated that 22 people were dead and 160 injured after the earthquake.
