An earthquake measuring 4.8 on the Richter Scale hitPakistan-India (Jammu and Kashmir) border region on Thursday. According to theIndian Meteorological Department, the tremors were felt at 12:31 pm, newsagency reported. Information about the epicenter of the quake was yet notavailable.

According to media reports, people in Mirpur were seenrushing out of their homes as soon as they felt the tremors. There were noimmediate reports of any damage or casualties resulting from the earthquake. Earlieron Tuesday, Pakistan-occupied Kashmir and several north-eastern cities in thecountry were rattled by a major 5.8-magnitude earthquake, which has claimed thelives of 37 people so far. Rescue operations are still in progress as many arestill believed to be trapped under the rubble of the collapsed buildings.

The number of casualties was likely to increase as around100 of the injured were admitted to different hospitals in a criticalcondition.The epicenter of the earthquake was at a depth of only 10 kilometers,near Mirpur city in the Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK), roughly 20 kilometersnorth of Jhelum in Punjab, according to the US Geological Survey.

The areas worst hit were Mirpur city, a small town Jatlanand two villages Manda and Afzalpur, where buildings and homes collapsed, treeswere uprooted and cracks appeared on roads large enough to swallow cars.

Other cities where the tremors were felt included Islamabad,Lahore, Sialkot, Sargodha, Mansehra, Gujrat, Chitral, Malakand, Swat, Sahiwal,and Rahim Yar Khan.