5.5-magnitude earthquake hits Pakistan

A moderate 5.5-magnitude earthquake jolted northwestern Pakistan on Saturday, but there were no reports of casualties or damage, officials said.

A moderate 5.5-magnitude earthquake jolted northwestern Pakistan on Saturday, but there were no reports of casualties or damage, officials said.

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Tremors were felt at 1017 am (0417 GMT) in several parts of northwestern Pakistan including Peshawar, the capital of
northwest frontier province, a seismological department official told AFP.

The epicentre was about 300 kilometres (185 miles) north of Peshawar in the remote Hindu Kush mountains of Afghanistan, and was registered at a depth of 187 kilometres, it said.

Residents panicked in some parts but there were no reports of any casualties or damage, the official said.

A 7.6-magnitude quake on October 8, 2005 claimed more than 73,000 lives, seriously injured nearly 70,000 people and left 3.3 million homeless in Pakistan. More than 1,000 also died in Kashmir.