Big quake shakes Pakistan, India

Saturday, October 8, 2005; Posted: 12:57 a.m. EDT (04:57 GMT)

The quake was felt in a number of Pakistani cities, including Peshawar.

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ISLAMABAD, Pakistan (AP) -- A magnitude 7.6 earthquake rocked parts of India, Pakistan and Afghanistan on Saturday, causing some casualties. Part of a 19-story building collapsed in the Pakistani capital Islamabad.

Police in the Pakistani city of Lahore said at least eight people were injured and four shops were damaged.

Rescue workers were on the scene of the collapse in Islamabad, but there was no immediate word on casualties there.

Buildings in Islamabad shook and walls swayed for about a minute at 8:50 a.m. local time (0350 GMT). Panicked people ran out of homes and offices in many cities. Slight tremors continued afterward.

The U.S. Geological Survey said on its Web site that the quake had a magnitude of 7.6 and that its epicenter was in Pakistan.

Arif Mahmood, a seismological official in the northwestern city of Peshawar, said the earthquake was felt in many parts of Pakistan.

"It was a very strong earthquake," he said.

Mohammed Hanif, another seismological official, said the quake appeared to have been strongest in Islamabad.

Local television said the quake caused panic in Islamabad, as well as nearby Rawalpindi, Lahore, Peshawar and Quetta near the Afghan border.

Residents in the Afghan capital, Kabul, also felt the temblor, fleeing their homes for fear they would collapse.

"We are calling all our officials in the provinces. But we haven't received any reports yet of casualties," said Saed Jawad Qanah, an official in Kabul with the disaster department of the Red Crescent Society.

The tremor also affected northern India.

'`It was so strong that I saw buildings swaying. It was terrifying," said Hari Singh, a guard in an apartment complex in the New Delhi suburb of Noida. Hundreds of residents there raced down from their apartments after their beds and couches started shaking.