A local resident looks his damaged house following a severe earthquake hit the area, in Harnai, about 100 kilometers (60 miles) from Quetta, Pakistan, Thursday, Pakistan. A powerful earthquake shook parts of southwestern Pakistan early Thursday. (AP Photo)
A powerful earthquake has collapsed at least one coal mine and dozens of mud houses in south-west Pakistan, killing at least 20 people and injuring more than 200, an official said.
The death toll is expected to rise as crews search the remote mountainous area, said Suhail Anwar Shaheen, the local deputy commissioner.
At least four of the dead were killed when the coal mine in which they were working collapsed, said Mr Shaheen, citing miners in the area.
As many as 100 homes also collapsed, burying sleeping residents.
The epicentre of the 5.9 magnitude quake was about nine miles north-north-east of Harnai in Baluchistan province, according to the US Geological Survey.
The initial measurement of the quake’s strength was 5.7 magnitude. It struck about five and a half below the Earth’s surface. Shallower quakes tend to cause more damage.
The area, about 60 miles from Quetta, the provincial capital, is dotted with coal mines, and the tremor struck in the early morning while scores of miners were at work.
Pakistan’s military was deployed to the area to airlift dozens of injured people from mountain peaks, and search and rescue teams have arrived in the area.
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