Powerful: The quake was felt as far away as New Delhi, the Indian capital, some 1,200 kilometers (about 740 miles) away, but no damage or injuries were immediately reported there
A major earthquake has killed at least 238 people and left thousands more injured and homeless in a remote region of southwestern Pakistan.
The Pakistani military said it was rushing troops and helicopters to Awaran district in Baluchistan province where the magnitude 7.7 quake struck on Tuesday afternoon.
The quake was felt as far away as New Delhi, the Indian capital, some 1,200 kilometers (about 740 miles) away, but no damage or injuries were immediately reported there.
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.
Local officials said they were sending doctors, food and 1,000 tents for people who had nowhere to sleep as strong aftershocks continued to shake the region.
Many residents are believed to be involved in smuggling fuel from Iran, while others harvest dates.
The area where the quake struck is at the center of an insurgency that Baluch separatists have been waging against the Pakistani government for years.
The separatists regularly attack Pakistani troops and symbols of the state, such as infrastructure projects.
Baluchistan and neighboring Iran are prone to earthquakes. A magnitude 7.8 quake centered just across the border in Iran killed at least 35 people in Pakistan last April.
Major: A graphic by the U.S. Geological Society showing the intensity of the magnitude 7.7 earthquake that hit Pakistan's western province of Balochistan
Most of the victims were killed when their houses collapsed. Pakistani television showed pictures of the area.
Walls of the mud brick houses had collapsed and people were gathered outside because they had no homes to sleep in.
Culled from DAILY MAIL
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