6.8 magnitude earthquake shakes Afghanistan, two dead; tremors felt in India

A strong earthquake, measuring 6.8 on the Richter scale, today struck the Hindukush mountain region in Afghanistan, ripples of which were felt in Pakistan and several parts of north India, including the national capital. According to a report in NDTV, 2 persons are dead and 4 injured. The quake at a depth of 210 kilometres (130 miles) occurred at 2:58 pm (1028 GMT), 282 km northeast of the capital Kabul. According to J L Gautam, Operations Head of National Centre for Seismology, “The earthquake measuring 6.8 on the Richter scale at a depth of 190 km hit Hindukush mountain region at 3:58 PM.”   [caption id=“attachment_2721640” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] According to National Centre for Seismology, the epicentre of earthquake is in Hindukush mountain range. CNN IBN[/caption] In north India, tremors were felt in Jammu and Kashmir,Punjab, Chandigarh and Haryana, besides Delhi. Delhi Metro services were also halted for few minutes. The quake was felt for a few seconds in Kabul and in Pakistan’s capital Islamabad, where some residents evacuated apartment blocks after tremors shook ceiling fans and furniture. “People are on the streets now and we don’t know whether to go back inside,” said an AFP reporter in Kashmir’s main city of Srinagar. Last October a 7.5-magnitude quake ripped across Pakistan and Afghanistan, killing almost 400 people and flattening buildings in rugged terrain that impeded relief efforts. With inputs from PTI