Up to 160 killed as quake hits southwest Pakistan

Islamabad, Oct 29 (PTI) More than 160 people were
killed, scores injured and around 15,000 left homeless as a
powerful earthquake jolted southwestern Pakistan early
Wednesday destroying hundreds of mud houses and sending people
scurrying onto the streets in panic.

The death toll could mount as Dilawar Kakker, mayor of
Ziarat warned as he said that hundreds more were buried under
the rubble as the quake measuring 6.4 on the Richter scale
triggered landslides and rockfalls on the houses catching the
people as they were asleep.

At least eight villages in Ziarat and Pishin areas of
Balochistan province were almost razed to rubble by the quake,
according to first rescue workers who reached there by midday.

Two temblors hit parts of Balochistan before dawn in
quick succession when people were asleep. But while the first
temblor was mild, the devastation was caused by the second
temblor.

The first temblor struck at 4:33 am (local time) and the
second at 5:10 am.

People rushed out of their homes in panic in the
provincial capital Quetta as local residents fired shots in
the area and mosques used their public address systems to wake
up people who were sleeping.

Provincial Revenue Minister Zamarruk Khan said Ziarat
and Pishin districts, located close to the epicentre, were hit
hardest by the quake where up to 500 houses were damaged or
destroyed.