Earthquakes rock remote Pakistan

A remote region of northern Pakistan has been rocked by two earthquakes with a magnitude of around 5.7.

They centred on the Hindu Kush mountains, about 200 kilometres (125 miles) northeast of Peshawar - and were felt in the capital Islamabad.

Interior ministry officials were quoted as saying at least 20 people had been killed and several wounded.

It is thought the quakes - roughly 90 minutes apart - may have toppled walls, set off landslides and damaged homes.

"Some 20 people have died, including 10 in a passenger van when it was caught in a landslide in the northern town of Batgram," said Brigadier Javed Cheema, head of the Interior Ministry's National Crisis Management Cell.

Police chief Raja Nasir Khan confirmed the Batgram incident, saying the truck plunged into a river after it was hit by a boulder loosened in the quake.

He also said a 10-year-old boy was killed in the village of Shamlai after being hit by a falling wall.

"We fear there might be more casualties," he was quoted as saying.

Rescue hampered

Another police official, Hayyat Khan, said a man died in Jabori - in neighbouring Mansehra district - after the roof of his home collapsed.

Mansehra mayor, Syed Ahmed Hussain, said doctors and police teams were on their way to the remote villages to provide relief and assess the damage.

A quake in the region in 2002 left thousands homeless

"We have information that people have been buried by debris in some areas," he told the Associated Press.

"People in some areas are sitting outdoors in snow. They fear going back to their homes."

It is feared the snow and cold weather could hamper rescue efforts.

The first tremor hit at around 0330 (1030 GMT). The second with a magnitude of 5.5 was felt just before 0500 (1200 GMT).

"It was felt in several cities of the northern regions and also in Islamabad and parts of (Pakistan-controlled) Kashmir," said Chaudhry Qamar-uz Zaman of the Islamabad meteorological office.

The tremors were also reportedly felt in Srinagar, summer capital of Indian-administered Kashmir.

More than 20 people were killed and thousands left homeless in the Gilgit region of northern Pakistan after an earthquake with a magnitude of 5.5 in November 2002.