Pakistan quake: Death toll rises to six; 28 injured in Peshawar

Islamabad: The death toll from the powerful earthquake that rattled many parts of Pakistan has risen to six, authorities said on Monday. The epicentre of yesterday’s quake that lasted 10-15 seconds was in the border region of Afghanistan and Tajikistan in the Hindu Kush mountains at a depth of 236 kilometres. Five people died in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province, while one died in Diamer area of Gilgit-Baltistan region, officials said, while 28 people were injured in Peshawar. [caption id=“attachment_2722580” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Volunteers transport a man to a hospital injured from an earthquake in Peshawar. AP[/caption] The quake was also felt in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK). In capital city Islamabad, terrified residents fled their homes in panic and were seen praying in the public. Pakistani authorities said the earthquake measured 7.1 on the Richter scale. However, the United States Geological Survey (USGS) measured the earthquake at 6.6 magnitude, putting the epicentre at a depth of 210 kilometres near Ashkasham in Afghanistan, close to Chitral near the Pak-Afghan border. The quake was the strongest since a powerful 7.5-magnitude quake rocked parts of Pakistan and Afghanistan in October 2015, killing almost 400 people and destroying thousands of home in the rugged mountainous border regions of the two countries.