Thirty-nine people, including 15 servicemen, were killed and more than 150 wounded in the India- controlled Jammu and Kashmir Saturday morning when a strong earthquake hit the area, said NDTV.

The worst affected was Uri near the line of control where nearly 400 houses collapsed when the earthquake measuring 7.6 on the Richter scale and epicentered 70 km away from Muzaffarabad of Pakistan-controlled Kashmir struck at 9:25 a.m.

The 15 soldiers were killed when some bunker building collapsed due to the earthquake.

The road between Srinagar and Muzaffarabad was blocked by landslide and houses were reported damaged in Poonch District.

The first tremor was felt at 9:25 a.m. Saturday in India- controlled Kashmir, north India's Uttaranchal, Punjab, Rajasthan, west India's Gujarat and the capital city Delhi.

Strong quakes have driven people out of their homes in Srinagar in India-controlled Kashmir, according to NDTV reports.

High rise buildings were left particularly shaken by the tremor lasting for about minutes in Delhi.

Source: Xinhua