45 Dead in Pakistan Quake, New Island Emerges in Sea

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People rush out their apartments and offices after they felt a major earthquake that struck Baluchistan province in southwest Pakistan, September 24, 2013

Officials in Pakistan say the death toll has reached 45 from a strong earthquake in the southwestern part of the country. The powerful earth movement Tuesday also caused the seabed to rise and create a small island.  Pakistani news channels showed images of the rocky terrain that rose from the sea off the country's southern coast. The U.S. Geological Survey says the quake had a magnitude of 7.8 and an epicenter about 230 kilometers southwest of Dalbandin in Pakistan's Baluchistan province, which borders Afghanistan and Iran. Rescue teams have been dispatched to the affected areas and officials say the death toll is likely to rise. The dead include women and children.


Most of the deaths were caused by the collapse of houses in poorly developed small towns. Pakistan's Geo TV reports that tremors were felt in other parts of Pakistan and in some cities of neighboring India, including New Delhi. The quake struck Tuesday afternoon at 4:29 p.m. local time (11:29 GMT) at a depth of 23 kilometers.

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