Powerful Earthquake Hits Afghanistan; Tremors Felt Across India & Pakistan

A powerful earthquake has struck the Hindu Kush mountains in Afghanistan on Tuesday, with tremors beings felt across both India and Pakistan.

The earthquake of magnitude 6.2 struck 260 km (160 miles) northeast of Kabul, the United States Geological Survey (USGS) and officials at Pakistan's meteorological department have said.

Early reports suggest that there have been no injuries or casualties.

Reports have stated that the quake hit at approximately 8.05am (03.35 GMT).

Sulaiman Khaliqyar, the administrative head of Afghan Aid, told Reuters: "I was in the office when the tremor started. The windows began to rattle and we all rushed outside as a precaution."

Mohammed Wais, an official at the Agency for Technical Cooperation and Development in Faizabad explained: "It lasted for more than a minute...we don't see at the moment any damage in the area."

Tuesday's earthquake, which was felt even as far away as New Delhi, brought back memories of past earthquake disasters in the region. Thousands of people were killed by two earthquakes in Badakhshan province in the late 1990s.

In addition, 73,000 people were killed in northern Pakistan, in October 2005 when a large earthquake hit the region.