6.4 earthquake in Pakistan leaves more than 100 dead

QUETTA, PAKISTAN — More than 100 people were killed when a strong earthquake struck southwestern Pakistan today, collapsing hundreds of houses, government Minister Zamaruk Khan said.

Sohail ur Rahman, the top civilian official in the part of Baluchistan province where the quake struck, told the Dawn News television channel that he feared the toll could rise.

The quake struck two hours before dawn in the impoverished province. It had a preliminary magnitude of 6.4, the U.S. Geological Survey said.

The quake was centered about 400 miles southwest of the Pakistani capital, Islamabad, and was a shallow 10 miles below the surface.

First reports put the death toll at four, but the number rose steadily.

“I’m telling you that 80 people are dead in this area where I am standing right now,” Rahman said by telephone from Wam district.

The army said it was rushing medical teams on helicopters to villages in the quake zone.

Pakistan is prone to seismic upheavals. In October 2005, a magnitude 7.6 quake devastated Kashmir and northern Pakistan, killing about 80,000 people and leaving hundreds of thousands homeless.