At least 20 people were killed and 300 were injured on Thursday when a powerful earthquake hit Pakistan’s southern province of Balochistan, local media reports said. The earthquake of magnitude 5.9 was centered near Harnai, a district 168 km east of Quetta, and had a depth of 15 km, confirmed the National Seismic Monitoring Center. 

Six children are among the dead, confirmed Sohail Anwar Hashmi, senior police of the district. The exact damage has not yet been confirmed, said Dawn newspaper. 

Around six districts were affected by the incident, provincial home minister Mir Ziaullah Langove said, adding the government was still collecting data. The earthquake was relatively shallow and has a depth of around 20 km, Reuters reported citing the US Geological Survey (UGS). 

Jam Kamal Khan, chief minister of Balochistan, tweeted,  “All assistance and evacuation are underway… medical, local administration and disaster management teams are on high alert and mobilized.” 

Media reports say over 100 mud houses have been damaged, rendering thousands of people homeless, alone in Harnai district. There had been some landslides in the mountainous area and houses within the 15 km of the district had been destroyed, said Naseer Ahmad Nasir, the director-general of the Pakistan Disaster Management Authority.

(SAM)