At least 180 people have died after a 7.5 magnitude earthquake that hit Afghanistan late Monday afternoon was felt in other neighboring South Asian countries, namely Pakistan and India.
Twenty-nine people were killed in northwestern Pakistan during Monday's quake, Pakistani rescue officials reported. Inayatullah Khan, Pakistan's provincial minister, said the death toll in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province alone has has risen to 121, according to the Associated Press.
Another official, Fiaz Khan, reported that eight people died and 70 were hurt in the Bajur tribal region that borders Afghanistan, according to the Associated Press.
Meanwhile, 12 students ended up dead at an Afghan girls' school as they tried to flee the building during the quake. The Afghan death toll has hit 33 nation-wide, according to officials.
Indian police officer Imtiyaz Hussain said that a 65-year-old woman died when she suffered a heart attack after she panicked during the quake in the Baramulla northern town in the part controlled by India of the disputed region of Kashmir.
People were running out of buildings as the strong tremor was felt. Trains were stopped temporarily, power went out, phone lines went down and walls swayed back and forth during the quake, HNGN previously reported.
The earthquake's epicenter was centered 28 miles from the Afghan town Jarm, and had an initial magnitude of 7.7, the USGS said.
