Major Earthquake Felt Across Afghanistan, Pakistan And India; Epicenter In Hindu Kush Region, At Least 36 Dead

UPDATE 7:15 a.m. EDT: At least 31 people were killed in Pakistan after an earthquake hit neighboring Afghanistan Monday afternoon, local media reported. Considerable damage has been reported in northern Pakistan, which has been made inaccessible due to landslides.

In Afghanistan, five people have been reported killed, while 12 students were killed in a stampede at a school following that 7.5-magnitude earthquake that hit the country's northeast.

UPDATE 6:48 a.m. EDT: At least 12 students were killed in a stampede while trying to get out of a trembling building at a girls' school in Afghanistan's Takhar province, the Associated Press reported.

Sonatullah Taimor, the spokesman for the Takhar provincial governor, told AP that another 30 girls were taken to a hospital.

UPDATE: 6:40 a.m. EDT -- At least 21 people are reported dead across Afghanistan and Pakistan and after a 7.5-magnitude earthquake struck northeastern Afghanistan Monday afternoon. The effects of the quake were felt as far east as the Indian capital of New Delhi.

A 4.8-magnitude aftershock was reported 40 minutes after the first earthquake, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) reported, and its epicenter was slightly west of the first earthquake.

Local media said that at least 16 were reported killed in Pakistan so far. The Associated Press (AP) reported power cuts across the Afghan capital of Kabul, adding that tremors there were felt for about 45 seconds. In Afghanistan, there were at least five deaths reported, with 55 people injured, the head of Nangahar provincial hospital told the Guardian.

Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif urged authorities to use all resources to help the victims, according to the AP. Peshawar, the Pakistani city closest to the epicenter, is said to be the worst-affected in the country by the quake.

Original story:

A major earthquake hit Afghanistan, Pakistan and India at 5:13 a.m. EDT Monday with tremors being felt as far as the Indian capital of New Delhi, local news reports said. Dawn, a Pakistani newspaper, reported at least 12 deaths in the affected parts of the country.

The epicenter of the magnitude-7.5 earthquake was reported to be in northern Afghanistan's Hindu Kush region, by the U.S. Geological Survey. The USGS, which had originally reported it to be a 7.7-magnitude quake, estimated the epicenter to be 45 kilometers (28 miles) south-southwest of Jarm, Afghanistan, about 265 kilometers northeast of the capital Kabul. The agency also reported that the quake occurred at a depth of about 132 miles.

According to various reports, the powerful quake was felt as far southeast as Pakistan's capital of Islamabad and India's capital of New Delhi.

Pakistani local media reported a landslide in the Gilgit area, and at least four deaths in the country's northern regions. Dozens have been reportedly injured. Reports also said people left their homes in Peshawar, Abbottabad and the capital Islamabad. There were also early reports of a school building collapse in the northeastern region of Sargodha. Pakistani authorities have also warned of more aftershocks in the next 24 hours.

Local reports said people in New Delhi were seen evacuating office buildings while the Times of India reported that the Delhi metro has also halted services. Initial reports said the quake also affected India’s northern border state of Jammu and Kashmir. Phone lines in the state capital, Srinagar, were cut off following the quake. No casualties have been reported so far.

In a tweet, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi called for an assessment of the situation and offered help to the governments of Afghanistan and Pakistan.

This is a developing story...