Pakistan earthquake death toll touches 350

Islamabad, Sept 26: The death toll in the 7.7-magnitude earthquake that struck

's Balochistan province on Tuesday afternoon has reached 350, the provincial government said on Thursday.

A total of 20,000 houses were destroyed in the earthquake, Xinhua reported citing a the provincial government.

A press release issued on Thursday morning by the Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) of Balochistan said Awaran was the most affected area where 95 percent of the houses were destroyed or damaged in the quake.

According to the release, of the 350 people killed, 305 died in Awaran and 43 in Kech.

The deadly earthquake, that struck on Tuesday mainly affected six districts in the southern part of Balochistan with the epicentre most close to Awaran, a district located at 27.09 degrees north latitude and 65. 61 degrees east longitude.

A rescue and relief operation involving army, paramilitary forces and civilians was underway in full swing in the affected areas, said local officials. However they too faced problems as there was rubble and debris everywhere.

IANS