Deadly earthquake strikes Pakistan's Balochistan
People rushed out of their apartments and offices in Karachi
It was felt as far away as Karachi, Hyderabad, and India's capital, Delhi.
After the quake, a small island appeared off the coast near the port of Gwadar, witnesses reported.
People gathered on the beach to see the new island, which is about 9m (30ft) high and 100m long, Gwadar Police Chief Pervez Umrani said.
Balochistan is Pakistan's largest but least populated province.
The province is prone to earthquakes, with at least 35 people killed in a 7.8-magnitude tremor that was centred in south-eastern Iran in April.
Mud houses Awaran deputy commissioner Abdul Rasheed Gogazai and the spokesman of Pakistan's Frontier Corps involved in the rescue effort said at least 45 people had been killed.
A spokesman for Pakistan's National Disaster Management Authority, Mirza Kamran Zia, says the death toll is likely to rise.
Many of the casualties were from Labach, on the northern outskirts of Awaran town. There are reports of some people trapped under the rubble of collapsed houses.
Abdul Qadoos, deputy speaker of the Balochistan assembly, told Reuters news agency that at least 30% of houses in Awaran district had collapsed.
Houses are also reported to have caved in in the district of Khuzdar.
Officials in the regional capital, Quetta, said some areas may have suffered serious damage but the remoteness made early assessment impossible.
People in the region mostly live in mud houses as opposed to multi-storey concrete structures, says the BBC's Shahzeb Jillani.
The few concrete buildings in the area mostly house government offices, he adds.
An emergency has been declared in the earthquake-affected districts of Awaran and Chagai.
Provincial disaster management officials say tents and medical supplies have been sent from Quetta and neighbouring district headquarters.
More than 200 soldiers have also been despatched for rescue efforts.
Pakistan's chief meteorologist Mohammad Riaz told reporters it was a major earthquake that could cause extensive damage.
"But it would depend on how dense the population is in the area around the epicentre," he said.
Light tremors were also said to have been felt in Karachi and Hyderabad, with reports of people rushing out of office buildings.
A powerful earthquake of
7.7 magnitude has killed at least 50 people in a remote area of
south-west Pakistan, local officials say.
It struck at 16:29 (11:29 GMT) at a depth of 20km (13 miles),
66km north-east of Awaran in Balochistan province, the US Geological
Survey said.It was felt as far away as Karachi, Hyderabad, and India's capital, Delhi.
After the quake, a small island appeared off the coast near the port of Gwadar, witnesses reported.
People gathered on the beach to see the new island, which is about 9m (30ft) high and 100m long, Gwadar Police Chief Pervez Umrani said.
Balochistan is Pakistan's largest but least populated province.
The province is prone to earthquakes, with at least 35 people killed in a 7.8-magnitude tremor that was centred in south-eastern Iran in April.
Mud houses Awaran deputy commissioner Abdul Rasheed Gogazai and the spokesman of Pakistan's Frontier Corps involved in the rescue effort said at least 45 people had been killed.
A spokesman for Pakistan's National Disaster Management Authority, Mirza Kamran Zia, says the death toll is likely to rise.
Many of the casualties were from Labach, on the northern outskirts of Awaran town. There are reports of some people trapped under the rubble of collapsed houses.
Abdul Qadoos, deputy speaker of the Balochistan assembly, told Reuters news agency that at least 30% of houses in Awaran district had collapsed.
Houses are also reported to have caved in in the district of Khuzdar.
Officials in the regional capital, Quetta, said some areas may have suffered serious damage but the remoteness made early assessment impossible.
People in the region mostly live in mud houses as opposed to multi-storey concrete structures, says the BBC's Shahzeb Jillani.
The few concrete buildings in the area mostly house government offices, he adds.
An emergency has been declared in the earthquake-affected districts of Awaran and Chagai.
Provincial disaster management officials say tents and medical supplies have been sent from Quetta and neighbouring district headquarters.
More than 200 soldiers have also been despatched for rescue efforts.
Pakistan's chief meteorologist Mohammad Riaz told reporters it was a major earthquake that could cause extensive damage.
"But it would depend on how dense the population is in the area around the epicentre," he said.
Light tremors were also said to have been felt in Karachi and Hyderabad, with reports of people rushing out of office buildings.
Comments