Quake hits southwest Pakistan: Officials

QUETTA, Pakistan - A 5.1 magnitude earthquake struck southwest Pakistan Saturday, meteorological officials said, with tremors felt in some of the areas ravaged by a deadly quake last month.

The earthquake struck at a depth of 10 kilometres (six miles), and its epicentre was 80 kilometres (50 miles) southwest of Khuzdar in Baluchistan province, senior meteorologist Tauseef Alam said.

Another meteorlogist, Shahid Mehmood, said that the tremors were felt in Khuzdar, and towns in Awaran and Kharan. No loss of life or property was immediately reported.

The 7.7-magnitude earthquake last month devastated several areas, including Awaran. It killed at least 376 people and left some 100,000 others homeless.

The population of Awaran is scattered over more than 21,000 square kilometres (8,000 square miles) of remote and rugged terrain. Infrastructure is extremely limited, with few medical facilities or even roads.

The quake was Pakistan's deadliest since the devastating Kashmir tremor of 2005, which killed 73,000.

Southwestern Baluchistan is Pakistan's largest province, and is believed to have large oil and gas reserves, but it remains very poor and is marked by political instability.