At least twenty people, including six children, lost their lives in a powerful earthquake on Thursday morning.

The trembling reportedly began at around 3 am on Thursday and left a massive impact on the city of Quetta, Pakistani’s tenth largest city.

The 5.7 magnitude earthquake, which was originally believed to have a magnitude of 5.4, had an epicenter some 60 miles east of the populous city.

As of this writing, it has been reported that at least twenty people, including several children, were killed as the tremors began destroying buildings throughout southern Pakistan.

Furthermore, hundreds of people were injured during the shaking, whereas the death toll is expected to continue to rise in the following hours.

“We are receiving information that 20 people have been killed due to the earthquake. Rescue efforts are under way,” Pakistani provincial interior minister, Mir Zia ullah Langau, revealed.

As senior official Suhail Anwar Hashmi added, many people died due to the falling debris after roofs and walls of buildings began to collapse.

“We are soon sending helicopters to the area to help support the rescue operation and to evacuate injured,” he said.

Severely affected by the tremors was also the remote city of Harnai where lack of infrastructure continues to halt rescue efforts.

Speaking of their rescue efforts, Zahoor Tarin, a Harnai hospital official, explained how the staff were forced to operate “without electricity with the help of torches and mobile flashlights” after the electricity in the Balochistan region collapsed.

“Most of the injured came with fractured limbs. Dozens of people were sent back after first aid [and] at least 40 people were received with critical injuries.”

Our thoughts are with the Pakistani people during these challenging times.

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