(COLOMBO, LANKAPUVATH) –At least 25 people have beenc confirmed dead and more than 300 injured when a magnitude 5.8 earthquake hit Pakistan-administered Kashmir and areas in Punjab province.
Tuesday’s quake hit 22km (14 miles) north of the city of Jhelum along the boundary separating the agricultural heartland of Punjab province and Pakistan-administered Kashmir, the US geological agency, USGS, said.
Al Jazeera’s Kamal Hyder, reporting from Mirpur near the quake’s epicentre, reported on Wednesday, that many some of those who were injured had serious injuries, and it is likely that the death toll could go up.
He said many residents in the area stayed outside their homes overnight for fear of more aftershocks.
Mirpur police chief Gul Faraz told Al Jazeera that the damage was mainly limited to the area around Mirpur, in Pakistan-administered Kashmir, located about 85km (53 miles) southeast of the Pakistani capital Islamabad.
“Our main road that goes along the canal was badly damaged and a bridge was destroyed. People are being brought in on motorcycles from there,” he said.
