Strong earthquake shakes buildings across South Asia

An earthquake with a magnitude of 6.6 struck South Asia on Sunday, shaking buildings in Pakistan, Afghanistan and India, witnesses and the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) said, and injuring several people in at least one Pakistani city.

The USGS said the quake was centered about 40 km (25 miles) west of Ashkasham in remote northeastern Afghanistan, close to the border with Tajikistan and just across a narrow finger of land from Pakistan's northwestern Chitral province. It was measured at a depth of 210 km (130 miles).

Residents left their homes in Kabul and Islamabad when the quake struck, with buildings swaying for more than a minute in both capitals. Similar reports were received from across northern and central Pakistan.

In Pakistan's northwestern frontier city of Peshawar, Khalid Khan, emergency director at the city's main Lady Reading Hospital, said three people were treated for "multiple injuries". Media pictures showed two children who appeared to have been injured in the quake.

People in Lahore in Pakistan's east, 630 km (390 miles) from the epicenter, also reported they had felt the tremors.

A Reuters witness in Chitral said the tremor was strong but there was no major damage visible. - Read More