AT LEAST 11 people were killed when a magnitude 6.5 earthquake hit Pakistan and Afghanistan on Tuesday night, officials said today.

The earthquake caused panicked residents to flee their homes and workplaces.

At least nine people died in Pakistan and two in Afghanistan, according to the latest information from officials.

More than 200 were taken to hospitals in the Swat valley and elsewhere in the region of Pakistan’s north-western Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.

Nine people are reported to have been killed when roofs collapsed in various parts of north-western Pakistan.

Dozens of others were injured in the quake, which was centred in Afghanistan and also felt in neighbouring Tajikistan.

Landslides were triggered in some of the mountainous areas, disrupting traffic.

Taimoor Khan, a spokesman for the provincial disaster management authority in the north-west, said that at least 19 mud-brick homes had collapsed in remote areas. 

“We are still collecting data about the damage,” he said.

In Afghanistan, Public Health Ministry spokesman Sharafat Zaman Amar said that at least two people were known to have died so far and about 20 more were injured.

“Unfortunately, there could be more casualties as the quake was so powerful in most parts of the country,” he said, adding that all hospitals and health facilities were ready to save people’s lives.

Kabul resident Shafiullah Azimi said: “The quake was so strong and terrifying, we thought houses were collapsing on us. People were all shouting and were shocked.”

Main Taliban government spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid tweeted that the Ministry of Public Health had ordered all health centres to be on standby.

Pakistani Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif said in a statement that he had asked disaster management officials to remain vigilant to handle any situation.