Strong earthquake hits Hindu Kush, shaking Afghanistan and Pakistan

A strong earthquake struck Afghanistan's Hindu Kush region on Saturday, the European Mediterranean Seismological Centre said, sending out tremors that could be felt from the capital Kabul across the border into neighbouring Pakistan.

There were no immediate official reports of casualties or damage from the earthquake, but checks were ongoing, the Afghanistan National Disaster Management Authority said in a statement.

The magnitude 6 quake occurred at a depth of 100 km (62 miles), EMSC said.

A magnitude 5.4 earthquake struck Pakistan earlier on Saturday, according to EMSC.

More than 20 people were injured and dozens of houses were damaged in different areas of Musakhail district in Pakistan, the district's deputy commissioner Abdul Razzaq Khajak told Reuters.

The disaster management authority in Pakistan's Balochistan province said around 125 houses were damaged, adding that relief teams were sent to the affected area along with tents and food, solar panels, blankets and other items.

People ran out of their doors in panic in Swat district in northern Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, resident Daniyal Ahmad told Reuters. There were no immediate reports of casualties.

"It was very huge here in Swat and it lasted for quite a long time," he said.

Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif expressed grief over the damage caused and ordered an urgent response from the authorities to help those affected, his office said.