- A major earthquake has hit Afghanistan, northern Pakistan and parts of India, with reports that more than 180 have been killed. The magnitude 7.5 quake was centred in the province of Badakhshan in the Hindu Kush mountain range in Afghanistan’s far north, and occurred at a depth of 130 miles (210km). More than two minutes of sustained tremors were felt in the Pakistani capital of Islamabad. The quake also hit the cities of Lahore, Faisalabad and the mountainous region of Chitral.
- Officials said at least 147 people were known to have been killed in Pakistan and 33 in Afghanistan. Twelve students died while trying to escape from a girls’ school in Taloqan, north-east Afghanistan, and six people died in the eastern province of Nangarhar. A police official in Badakhshan said dozens of houses were destroyed in two remote and sparsely populated rural districts, with some damage reported in Fayzabad. As night falls in the region, further reports of deaths are expected.
- The Pakistani prime minister, Nawaz Sharif, is to cut short a visit to London to return to Pakistan. His daughter, Maryam Nawaz Sharif, tweeted that her father would be leaving for Pakistan shortly.
- Abdullah Abdullah, chief executive of Afghanistan, has said that the earthquake was “the strongest one felt in recent decades”. He also urged people to stay outdoors for fears of aftershocks.
