More than 260 people are dead after a magnitude 7.5 earthquake hit northern Afghanistan, with the effects of the tremor also felt in Pakistan and India. The death toll is expected to rise.
The quake was centered in the mountainous Hindu Kush region 30 miles southwest of the city of Jarm, Afghanistan, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) reports. The epicentre of the quake was 130 miles deep.
At least 228 people were killed in Pakistan, with more than 1,000 injured, while Afghan officials reported 33 dead and more than 200 injured, and authorities in the Indian-controlled Kashmir region reported two deaths. Officials expected the casualty toll to rise as they reached the remote areas.
Strong shaking was felt in Kabul, New Delhi and Islamabad. The magnitude was initially reported as 7.7 but was later revised by the USGS.
तस्वीरें : उत्तर भारत में भूकंप के झटके https://t.co/8aTZIZ3Rep#earthquake pic.twitter.com/M9CBaPYtV8— NDTVIndia (@ndtvindia) October 26, 2015
#EarthQuake effect in Delhi pic.twitter.com/hEPQEdbwaA— Adv.Tanveer Ahmed (@AdvocateReevnat) October 26, 2015
Abdullah Humayoon Dehqan, the provincial director of the Afghan National Disaster Management Authority in Badakhshan, said a child died and more than 60 houses were destroyed in the province.
The toll from the sparsely populated Badakhshan province was likely to rise as reports came in from remote areas. The province is often struck by earthquakes, but casualty figures are usually low.
People at Kabul’s Polytechnic University captured the aftermath of the quake.
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In northwest Pakistan, rescue official Latifir Rehman said 21 people were killed and 200 wounded across the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. Another official, Fiaz Khan, said at least eight people were killed and 70 injured in the Bajur tribal region.
This video of landslides triggered by the quake was captured in Hunza -- a mountainous valley in Pakistan.
Video: Landslides triggered by magnitude 7.5 #earthquake in Hunza - via FB friend pic.twitter.com/nXZbL2noCh— Roohan Ahmed (@Roohan2Ahmed) October 26, 2015
In the Pakistani capital, walls swayed back and forth and people poured out of office buildings in a panic.
State-run Pakistani television says at least one person died when the roof of a home collapsed.
Earthquake tremors now in Islamabad pic.twitter.com/4x5XAfKHYy— Matiullah Jan (@Matiullahjan919) October 26, 2015
The roof collapsed Monday in the eastern city of Kasur. Other homes collapsed in northern Pakistan. This video, posted to Facebook, from the Gilgit-Baltistan region of Pakistan shows a bridge shaking.
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Local reports showed dust rising from the mountains in Skardu.
18. Dust rising from the mountains in Skardu due to landslide triggered by earthquake #Skardu #Baltistan #Earthquake pic.twitter.com/pH5iMxx7O6— pamirtimes (@pamirtimes) October 26, 2015
Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has asked authorities to utilize all resources to help any victims of the earthquake.
People in Delhi left office buildings and went out into the streets after buildings shook.
People coming out of Delhi secretariat after earthquake. @htTweets pic.twitter.com/ByTsLbKDIK— Faizan Haider (@FaiHaider) October 26, 2015
Earthquake just now felt in Delhi. Lasting a good long while.— Charles Riley (@CRrileyCNN) October 26, 2015
Vineet Gahlot, the director of seismology at the Indian Meteorological Department, said the earthquake's epicenter was deep in the Hindu Kush region of Afghanistan. Pakistan state TV reported the same magnitude.
#AFG One of the scariest experiences. Was stuck inside a building during this massive earthquakes, I have experienced.— Bilal Sarwary (@bsarwary) October 26, 2015
In Takhar province, west of Badakhshan, 12 students at a girls' school were killed in a stampede as they fled shaking buildings, said Sonatullah Taimor, the spokesman for the provincial governor. Another 42 girls were taken to a hospital in the provincial capital of Taluqan.
Shoes of Afghan girls involved in a deadly stampede at their school in Takhar were left outside building #earthquake pic.twitter.com/S0ewuitVoq— Snober Alan Abbasi (@snobers) October 26, 2015
The earthquake occurred in the area where the Indian subcontinent moves northward and collides with Eurasia, resulting in the Himalayan Mountain range.
Active faults and their resultant earthquakes in northern Pakistan and adjacent parts of India and Afghanistan are the direct result of the convergence between the India and Eurasia plates. This collision is causes uplift that produces the highest mountain peaks in the world including the Himalayan, the Karakoram, the Pamir and the Hindu Kush ranges.
Additional reporting by Mashable's Andrew Freedman and The Associated Press.