Iran earthquake leaves thousands homeless in neighbouring Pakistan

THE GUARDIAN

Hundreds of Pakistani soldiers deployed for relief effort as official says more than 3,000 homes were destroyed and 19,000 are without shelter


Thousands of people are homeless and desperate for aid in south-western Pakistan following a deadly earthquake in neighbouring Iran toppled scores of mud brick homes and killed at least 36 people, officials said on Wednesday.

The Pakistani army has deployed several hundred soldiers to help the relief effort in Mashkel, the area of Baluchistan province hit hardest by Tuesday's magnitude 7.8 earthquake. At least 35 people were killed and 150 injured in Pakistan, according to Pakistan's national disaster management authority. Iran's main state TV channel said on Wednesday that only one person was killed in Iran – a woman who was struck by falling rocks while she was collecting herbs – and that 12 people were injured.


An estimated 700 houses were reported damaged in Mashkel in Pakistan, and more remote areas were being assessed, the disaster management agency said.