Earthquake rocks South Asia, hundreds feared dead (AFP) Updated: 2005-10-08 17:16 The epicenter was around 100 kilometres (62 miles) northeast of Islamabad,
according to most agencies, although the Earth Sciences Observatory in the
French city of Strasbourg said the epicenter was just inside Indian Kashmir.
The divided territory of Kashmir is claimed in full by both India and
Pakistan. Thousands of troops face off on each side of the Line of Control and
the two countries have fought two wars over the territory.
The quake was felt across a vast swathe of Pakistan, India and Afghanistan.
An Indian student cries outside a school
building following an earthquake in the northern Indian city of Jammu,
October 8, 2005.[Reuters] | It shook the desert
town of Quetta, some 700 kilometres (435 miles) southwest of Islamabad as well
as the northern Afghan city of Kunduz, some 500 kilometres north of the
Pakistani capital.
In the Pakistani capital Islamabad part of an 11-storey apartment block
collapsed leaving dozens of people trapped and neighbours clawing at the rubble
in an attempt to free them.
Bloodstained people could be seen trapped beneath huge stone slabs at the
scene while desperate cries for help could be heard, an AFP photographer
reported.
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