Death toll from South Asia quake keeps rising

The death toll from a 7.5 magnitude earthquake which affected several South Asian countries has kept rising.

The powerful earthquake struck northern Afghanistan, with tremors felt in Pakistan and northern India on Monday. The quake was also felt in the Himalayan region of Kashmir.

The death toll rose rapidly amid reports of buildings being reduced to rubble in areas hit hardest by the earthquake.

Pakistan’s Urdu language newspaper Jang said that at least 156 people have been killed across the country as a result of the earthquake so far.

Pakistani official said most of the people were killed across the northern areas, northwest region, the Gilgit-Baltistan and Pakistani-administered Kashmir.

Latest reports indicate that at least 63 people have have been confirmed dead across Afghanistan.

The victims also included at least 12 schoolgirls who were killed in a crush in Takhar Province, west of Badakahshan, as they rushed out of the shaking buildings, the provincial governor spokesman said.

Sonatullah Taimor said another 30 girls have been taken to the hospital in the provincial capital of Taluqan.

Several buildings were evacuated in the capitals of all three countries and communications disrupted in many areas. In the Indian capital, New Delhi, hundreds of people rushed into the streets.

The US Geological Survey (USGS) said on Monday that the quake was centered near Jarm, 250 kilometers (160 miles) from the Afghan capital, Kabul.

In October 2005, a deadly earthquake killed more than 75,000 people across Pakistani-administered Kashmir.