DHAKA: Rescuers have rushed to deliver relief aid to victims of a magnitude 7.5 earthquake that hit northern Afghanistan and Pakistan, killing more than 330 people, so far, over a wide swath of mostly mountainous terrain.

Quoting Pakistani media, Al Jazeera on Tuesday reports that thousands had spent the night outdoors in near-freezing temperatures reluctant to go back inside for fear of aftershocks.

A Pakistani disaster management official Latif ur Rehman said, “Rescue work is ongoing, and tents, blankets and sleeping mats are being provided”.

Pakistan’s military and civilian authorities dispatched several helicopters to affected areas to assess damage and run rescue operations, the National Disaster Management Authority said.

The total death toll stood at 335 with at least 253 people killed in Pakistan and at least 82 more in Afghanistan, according to official reports from the two countries. More than 2,000 people have been injured.

The death toll could climb in coming days because communications were down in much of the rugged Hindu Kush mountain range where the quake was centred.

Landslides in mountainous northern Pakistan over the weekend caused by heavy rain and snow had already left thousands of tourists stranded.

Nawaz Sharif, the prime minister of Pakistan, cut short his visit to the United Kingdom to fly home to deal with the emergency.

"We will try our best to deal with this disaster using our own resources," he said.

BDST: 1043 HRS, OCT 27, 2015
SR

** Quake kills 335 Afghanistan, Pakistan