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EDITOR IN CHIEF- ABDULLAH BIN SALIM AL SHUEILI

At least 13 killed in Afghanistan-Pakistan earthquake

Residents clear debris from a damaged a house at Sooch village in Jurm district of Badakhshan Province in Afghanistan. — AFP
Residents clear debris from a damaged a house at Sooch village in Jurm district of Badakhshan Province in Afghanistan. — AFP
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JURM: At least 13 people were killed in Afghanistan and Pakistan by a strong earthquake felt across thousands of kilometres, but the region appeared on Wednesday to have dodged the mass casualties usually associated with a tremor of such scale.


The United States Geological Survey said the magnitude 6.5 quake was centred near Jurm in northeastern Afghanistan, but the depth of 187 kilometres mitigated extensive damage.


The quake, which struck around 09:30 pm Kabul time on Tuesday and lasted more than 30 seconds, was felt from central Asia to New Delhi in India -- more than 2,000 kilometres away.


"It was a powerful earthquake and we feared maximum damage due to the intensity -- that's why we issued an alert," Bilal Faizi, a spokesman for Pakistan's emergency Rescue said.


In Jurm district, near the epicentre, a resident of one village reported no casualties despite the proximity.


"We are about 2,000 to 3,000 people in our village and we all spent the night outside under the sky," said Inamullah, reached by telephone.


Some 50 houses had collapsed in the village located in the snow-capped mountains.


Panicked residents of cities and towns in Afghanistan and Pakistan also fled their homes to seek safety away from buildings -- with many too scared to return.


"We stayed the night in our courtyard... it was cold outside, but we preferred to stay out rather than go back," 24-year-old student Neda Raihan said in Kabul.


Officials in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, north of Islamabad, said nine people had been killed in the quake, including two women and two children.


In Afghanistan, officials reported four dead, including a child, and 74 injured.


"When we were rushing out a wall of our house collapsed on the children. One lost her life," said Abdul Baseer, a resident of Laghman province.


Officials said about 150 houses were damaged in Laghman.


In the Afghan capital Kabul, shopkeeper Noor Mohammad Hanifi set up tents in the street for his family to spend the night in.


"Nobody dares to go inside their homes," Hanifi said as his family, cloaked in blankets, took shelter.


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