Tremors jolt J&K, Delhi-NCR after 5.7 earthquake hits Pakistan border

Tremors were felt in Delhi-NCR and parts of Jammu and Kashmir after an earthquake hit the Afghanistan-Tajikistan border region, a few hundred kilometres from Pakistan’s capital city, Islamabad, on Saturday morning.

The earthquake occurred at 9.45am at a depth of 181 kilometres, and its epicentre was located 346 kilometres north-northwest of Islamabad, 422 kilometres northwest of Srinagar in India. It measured 5.7 on the Richter scale, according to the National Center for Seismology.

The US Geological Survey said that the exact epicentre was 45 kilometres southwest of Ashkāsham, Afghanistan.

Also read | Explosion at Nigerian oil vessel sparks fear: Fourth major oil spill of the year

The tremors were particularly pronounced in parts of Jammu and Kashmir, and the Mayor of Srinagar, Junaid Azim Mattu confirmed the same, tweeting, “That was a very strong earthquake.”

Also read | Disaster-hit Tonga faces first COVID outbreak after world rushes to offer aid

According to people on the ground, the minaret of the Charar-e-Sharief shrine in the Budgam district of Kashmir tilted when the tremors hit.

“The crown at the minaret of the shrine got tilted and lost its original shape due to the strong tremors felt across Kashmir. However, there is no major damage to the shrine and everything is being inspected from the inner and outer side,” the administrator of the shrine told IndiaTV.

After reports of strong tremors being felt across Jammu and Kashmir emerged, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi called Lieutenant-Governor Manoj Sinha to enquire about the situation in the Union Territory.