Pakistan earthquake Live: Over 271 dead, army begins rescue ops

7.10 pm: Death toll rises to 271

Rescuers struggled on Wednesday to help thousands of people injured and left homeless after their houses collapsed in a major earthquake in southwestern Pakistan as the death toll from the massive tremor rose to at least 271.

The earth moved with enough force to create a small island visible off the southern coast after the magnitude 7.7 quake struck in the remote district of Awaran in Pakistan’s Baluchistan province Tuesday. PTI

12:05 pm: 23 wounded evacuated. 2800 kgs of food and 1200 kgs of medicines distributed

Even as the 550 troops of Pakistan Army and Frontier Corps personnel are undertaking rescue operation in earthquake affected areas of Balochistan, 23 wounded persons have been evacuated from Mashkel to Quetta and Dalbandin by Army helicopters, according to a report in the Dawn.

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The newspaper reported that at least 2800 kilograms of food items, 1200 kilograms medicine, 300 blankets and 80 tents have been distributed among those affected, so far.

A field medical facility comprising eight Doctors and 15 Para medics are providing medical treatment to injured in Mashkel — a remote village close to the Pakistan-Iran border and is the worst affected by the earthquake, said the paper.

The rubble of a house is seen after it collapsed following the quake in the town of Awaran, southwestern Pakistani province of Baluchistan. Reuters

11.40 am: Mansoor Ali Khan, Geo News journalist, tweeted that the death toll may have gone to 238.

However, Additional Home Secretary of Baluchistan Zahid bin Maqsood, put the death toll at 210, according to the Associated Press. bin Maqsood told the agency that 375 people had been injured. A spokesman for the provincial government, Jan Mohammad Bulaidi, put the death toll at 216 — conflicting figures likely due to the difficulty in contacting local officials and people in the remote region, also according to AP.

In Pakistani cities such as Karachi along the Arabian Sea and Quetta, the capital of Baluchistan province, people ran into the streets in fear, praying for their lives when the quake hit.

10.55 am: Death toll crosses 200 

The death toll in the devastating earthquake that struck havoc in Pakistan's southwestern Balochistan province rose to 217 today, amid fears that it is likely to go up, reports PTI.

The report adds that far-flung areas in Balochistan are yet to be reached by rescue teams because of the terrain and lack of proper roads.

The earthquake which struck Pakistan yesterday had a 7.7-magnitude. Chief Minister Balochistan Abdul Malik Baloch yesterday declared an emergency in Awaran and five other districts.

10.30 am: New island rises in sea because of earthquake

PTI also reports that the quake was so strong that it prompted a new 'island' to rise from the sea just off Pakistan's southern coast.

The earthquake caused the seabed to rise and create a small, mountain-like island about 600 meters off Gwadar coastline in the Arabian Sea.

"The island popped up soon after the earthquake. Our staff stationed in Gwadar has reported that the island is about one and a half kilometres away from the coastline," said Dr Asif Inam, the Principal Scientific Officer of the National Institute of Oceanography.

It's the third time in 15 years that such a phenomenon has occurred along the Balochistan coast.