Chinese President Hu Jintao on Saturday sent a message of condolences to his Pakistani counterpart Pervez Musharraf over the massive earthquake that caused heavy casualties and damages in the South Asian country.

Hu, on behalf of the Chinese government and people and in his own name, offered his condolences, through Musharraf, to the victims' families and the injured, and expressed deep grief over those who were killed in the disaster.

On the same day, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao and Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing also extended condolences to their Pakistani counterparts Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz and Foreign Minister Khurshid Kasuri over the deadly earthquake.

A powerful earthquake, of a magnitude of 7.6 on the Richter scale, rocked Pakistan, India and Afghanistan Saturday morning, killing at least 700 people and injuring thousands of others. The death toll is likely to rise.

Source: Xinhua