According to the Provincial Disaster Management Authority in Pakistan’s Balochistan province, at least 20 people died and over 300 were injured in a magnitude 5.9 earthquake in the region on Thursday. The earliest tremors were felt at 3:20am (local time) on Thursday.
The first tremors were felt around 3:20 a.m. (local time) on Thursday, prompting terrified residents to run out of their homes while reciting verses from the holy Quran. Sohail Anwar Hashmi, Deputy Commissioner of Harnai district, informed a leading news channel that six of the dead were minors.
According to an official, four of those killed worked at a coal mine, according to the Associated Press. “The majority of the people in the region live in sun-baked mud homes, many of which have collapsed,”
The USGS initially assigned a magnitude of 5.7 to the quake, but revised it to 5.9 a few hours later. The depth was also reduced from 20.8 kilometres (12.9 miles) to 9 kilometres (5.6 miles). According to the Balochistan Levies Force, the province’s paramilitary law enforcement agency, some houses in Harnai have fallen as a result of the earthquake.
