Magnitude 5 earthquake rattles southern Pakistan, killing 1 person, wounding 70

KARACHI, Pakistan – A moderate earthquake rattled several towns in southern Pakistan before dawn Friday, killing one person and wounding 70, a government official said.

The magnitude 5 quake struck the district of Nawabshah, about 400 kilometres (240 miles) northeast of Karachi, the capital of southern Sindh province, said Roshan Ali Sheikh, the top official at the province’s rehabilitation and disaster management department. It hit around 4 a.m. local time (2300 GMT) while many still slept, causing panic, he said.

The U.S. Geological Survey said the temblor had a preliminary magnitude of 4.3 and struck some 12 kilometres (7.5 miles) north of Nawabshah. It said the quake had a depth of 15.6 kilometres (9.7 miles).

Sheikh said at least 25 mud-brick homes collapsed in the quake-hit district and authorities were still assessing the damage. Some of those injured were listed in critical condition at a government hospital, he said.

Earlier, local television stations in Pakistan reported that walls came down and people fled their homes with their children.

Pakistan is often hit by earthquakes. In September 2013, a 7.7-magnitude quake struck its province of Baluchistan, killing at least 376 people and pushing a new island up in the Arabian Sea.