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  • Massive landslides were reported in Gilgit–Baltistan region of PakistanTwitter
  • A scene after the earthquakeTwitter

Heavy casualties are expected after a major earthquake hit Afghanistan, Pakistan and parts of India. Hundreds have been injured and the number of fatalities is steadily rising with the latest figures for the dead at 200.

According to The Guardian, buildings shook for almost two minutes in Islamabad. The scenes were repeated in other major Pakistani cities, including Lahore and Faisalabad.

Building collapse also has been reported in Peshawar. The tremor also triggered huge landslides in Gilgit-Baltistan during the earthquake.

The US Geological Survey initially said it was a 7.7 magnitude earthquake, but later downgraded the intensity to 7.5.

The epicentre was near Jarm, Afghanistan, close to the border with Pakistan, USGS said.

The high-intensity tremors were felt in Karachi, Peshawar, Islamabad, Lahore, Sialkot, Quetta, Peshawar, Swabi Kohat, Abbottabad, Swat, Malakand and other cities.

Live Updates:

* Death toll in Pakistan, Afghanistan: According to NDTV, the number of those killed stands at 150. At least 1000 were injured.

* Two Women dead in Swat valley: The local reports said two women lost their lives after a wall of a house collapsed following the quake in Swat.

* Indian High Commission in Afghanistan said that Indians in Kabul are safe.

* Children among the injured: Several schoolchildren were injured after a wall of Ambala Muslim School in Sargodha caved in as a result of the earthquake.

* At least 19 people have died in northeastern Afghanistan.

* In Afghanistan's Takhar province, west of Badakahshan, at least 12 students at a girls' school were killed in a stampede as they tried to get out of the shaking buildings [via Times Colonist]

* The Pakistani army  has been deployed in some of the affected regions to help with the rescue work.

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