More than 1,000 feared dead as huge quake hits Asia

A powerful 7.6-magnitude earthquake reduced villages to rubble in Pakistan and India on today, killing hundreds of people. Pakistan’s army described the damage as widespread and said it included villages buried in quake-induced landslides.

Pakistan television quoted Major General Shaukat Sultan, the Pakistani army’s chief spokesman, as saying 1,000 people were feared dead. Pakistani army officials who flew over quake-hit areas reported seeing hundreds of flattened homes in villages north of the capital Islamabad.