EARTHQUAKE STRIKES PAKISTAN: HUNDREDS DIED IN BALOCHISTAN

A new earthquake has struck the southwestern Pakistani province of Balochistan, where hundreds of people have already died and thousands more been affected by a previous tremor, the US Geological Survey reports.

The latest earthquake measured 6.8 in magnitude, and occurred about 96km northeast of the city of Awaran, the USGS said on Saturday.

• The quake occurred at a depth of 14.8km, which was similar to Tuesday's 7.7 magnitude earthquake. The epicentres of the two tremors were about 30km apart, according to USGS data.
• "It was not an aftershock it was an independent earthquake," Zahid Rafi, director of the National Seismic Centre of Pakistan, told local news television station Geo TV.
• An AFP reporter in Awaran said that hundreds of patients being treated in the aftermath of the previous quake fled a hospital in panic as the new tremor hit.
• "We are checking but no reports of losses have yet been received," Jan Mohammad Buledi, spokesman for the provincial government, told AFP.
•  At least 359 people were killed, and another 765 injured, when Tuesday's earthquake struck the impoverished region of southwestern Pakistan, according to the Provincial Disaster Management Authority's official figures.
• Unofficial estimates put the number of dead at more than 500.

The government says that more than 185,000 people have been affected by the tremor, and that rescue and relief activities are being undertaken by the civil administration in conjunction with the army.

The population of Awaran district is scattered over more than 21,000 square kilometres of remote and rugged terrain, where infrastructure is limited, with few medical facilities or even roads.

Source:Al Jazeera,  BBC...More...