An earthquake measuring 7.6 on the Richter scale rattled Pakistan, north India and Afghanistan early Saturday, leaving thousands of people feared killed in the region.

The disaster, which struck at 0350 GMT, was centered about 100 km northeast of Pakistani capital Islamabad, according to the Hong Kong Observatory.

In Pakistan, more than 1,000 people were feared killed. Major General Shaukat Sultan said though they don't have exact numbers, "casualties will be high, they could be well over 1,000."

The major quake rocked major Pakistani cities including Islamabad, Lahore, Peshawar, Quetta, Rawalpindi and other parts of the country, and in some outskirts areas of Azad Kashmir, several villages have been totally wiped out.

Meanwhile, Gilgit-Chitral highway was closed due to quake- triggered landslides. Several houses were razed in Kohistan and Buttgram districts. In Islamabad, a 19-story building, Margallah Towers, collapsed in the tremor and about 70 persons were trapped under the debris. Efforts were being made to rescue them out, which may take several more hours.

Pakistani President General Pervez Musharraf said the quake was "a test for the nation... We will qualify this test."

The president was quoted by local TV reports as saying that all civil and armed agencies had been engaged in relief operations, Pak Air Force and C-130 were prepared and helicopters were also providing assistance in the relief work. He said the government has set up a special cell in the Prime Minister Secretariat which will work around the clock and monitor the situation.

In Indian-controlled Kashmir, nearly 210 people including 21 Indian solider were killed and over 600 others injured.

More than 500 houses collapsed in different parts of India- controlled Kashmir, Vijay Bakaya, a senior officer of the local government, told a press conference in Srinagar.

Reports from Baramulla and nearby areas said that nearly 20 people have died there.

The worst affected area was Uri near the Line of Control where nearly 200 houses collapsed and two buses with passengers on board fell into gorge.

Indian State Law Minister Muzzaffar Hussain Beigh said the government is taking every step to provide medical facilities to the victims.

The tremors were also felt in India's Delhi, western Uttar Pradesh, Uttaranchal, Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, Rajasthan and in Ahmedabad.

The quake also strongly rattled the eastern parts of Afghanistan and was felt in the north and northeast Balkh, Kunduz, Baghlan, Badakhshan and Takhar provinces of the country.

An 11 year old girl was killed as roof caved in on her in Surkhroad district of eastern Nangarhar province, a senior official in provincial police department told Xinhua. He said a number of mud houses collapsed in the neighboring Kama district but left no casualties.

Afghanistan's Interior Ministry spokesman Yusuf Stanikzai confirmed zero casualties so far except minor damages to mud houses in some areas.

"Good bless, every thing is in order and we have not received any report of casualties so far," a grateful Stanikzai told Xinhua.

Source: Xinhua