Earthquake kills 20 and injured 200 in Harnai Balochistan

Over 20 dead 200 injured in Harnai as earthquake jolts parts of Balochistan

Syed Ali Shah, Hanif Tareen :

QUETTA: Over 20 people were killed and over 200 injured when an earthquake jolted Balochistan’s Harnai district in the wee hours of Thursday. The injured were rushed to district headquarters hospital Harnai. Women and children were also among the injured. “We have received 20 dead bodies”, Sohail Anwar Hashmi, Deputy Commissioner Harnai told Quetta Voice via telephone. He said the number of injured was more than 200.

Besides civil administration, the Frontier Corps (FC), para-military force personnel also launched a massive rescue operation to retrieve the injured from collapsed houses. Over two dozen seriously injured of the earthquake were shifted in military helicopters from Harnai to Quetta.

“Six children were also among the dead”, Mr. Hashmi stated. Emergency declared in the hospital to treat the injured of the earthquake. Hundreds of mud-walled houses collapsed as a result of the earthquake that jolted most parts of Southwest Pakistan.

“Come to hospital and donate blood”, one of the social media activists appeals on FB

“Come to hospital and donate blood”, one of the social media activists appealed during a Facebook live from Harnai. The social media pages showed the frightened citizens outside the Harnai district headquarters hospital. Most of the injured were brought from nearby villages.

The Pakistan Metrological Department said the earthquake struck some 97kms east of Quetta, the capital of Balochistan province. The earthquake was recorded at 5.9 on the Richter scale. The epicenter of the earthquake was 15km near the Harnai district of Balochistan, Pakistan’s southwestern province.

Prime Minister Imran Khan has also expressed grief and sorrow over the loss of human lives. The Premier has directed the concerned department to expedite the rescue operation and support the earthquake survivors in this hour of trial.

Chief Minister Balochistan, Jam Kamal Khan paid an emergency visit to the earthquake-affected Harnai district and reviewed relief activities. Provincial ministers and other senior officers accompanied the CM.

“All assistance and evacuations are underway”, Chief Minister Balochistan, Jam Kamal Khan said. The CM earlier took to Twitter and said all departments were working to support the affected people in Harnai.

Dozens of seriously injured of the earthquake have been brought to Quetta for medical treatment. Emergency has been declared in the civil hospital Quetta to provide timely and better health facilities to the injured of the earthquake.

No report of humal loss in Quetta

There was no immediate report of any human loss in Quetta, Pakistan’s Southwestern city. People were in deep sleep when the earthquake jolted the mountain-ringed city. People rushed towards open spaces to protect themselves from the earthquake. The tremors were also felt in Killa Saifullah, Loralai, Pishin, and other parts of northern Balochistan. However, no human loss was reported as a result of the earthquake.

Harnai, which houses more than 2,00,000 population was struck by an earthquake in 1997.

However, there were reports of the collapse of some mud-walled houses in Balochistan’s Harnai district. Sohail Anwar Hashmi, Deputy Commissioner Harnai confirmed that the earthquake has caused the collapse of some mud-walled houses in the district.