The Hindu : Front Page : More than 2,000 feared killed as quake rocks Pakistan

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, Oct 09, 2005

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Front Page

More than 2,000 feared killed as quake rocks Pakistan

B. Muralidhar Reddy

40 aftershocks cause panic; 400 children, 200 soldiers killed

ISLAMABAD: At least 2,000 people were feared killed and several thousand injured as a powerful earthquake measuring 7.6 on the Richter scale hit large parts of Pakistan and Pak-occupied Kashmir (PoK) on Saturday morning.

The epicentre of the quake, which lasted over a minute, was near Muzaffarabad, capital of PoK. Reports said the town was the worst hit. Agencies said more than 1,000 people died in PoK alone, mostly in the capital. In the North West Frontier Province, 400 school children were killed when their school buildings collapsed. In the same province and in PoK, 200 soldiers were killed.

According to Shaukat Sultan, Director-General of Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), 50 per cent of the buildings either collapsed or were damaged in Muzaffarabad.

As the communications systems collapsed, details of the destruction were not yet known.

There was panic in the national capital as the earth began shaking at 8.52 a.m. (9.22 a.m. IST). With prayers on their lips, people ran out of their houses. The scene was no different in government offices and commercial buildings. (On account of Ramzan, offices in Pakistan begin functioning at 8 a.m.). Minutes after the quake, most buildings were empty.

People gathered in open spaces and frantically tried to establish contact with their kith and kin.

The fears triggered by the quake intensified as the first aftershock occurred within 18 minutes.

A sense of uneasiness prevailed throughout the day as the aftershocks continued. An aftershock recorded at 3.40 p.m. (4.10 p.m. IST) was of the magnitude of 6.5.

By evening, 40 tremors were recorded but the Pakistan Meteorological Office categorised them as "usual aftershocks."

Experts said the earthquake was the worst in Pakistan's history.

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