Teams check Pakistani quake damage

Pakistani authorities have dispatched teams to villages close to the epicentre of a powerful earthquake to check for damage and casualties.

Initial daylight surveys appeared to confirm earlier reports that the sparsely populated region had escaped major damage. No deaths or injuries have been reported.

The 7.2 magnitude quake struck at 1.30am local time in a remote area 200 miles south west of the Baluchistan capital of Quetta, not far from the Afghan border, sending thousands running from their homes in panic.

Tremors were felt across much of south and central Pakistan, Afghanistan, India and the United Arab Emirates.

Local administrator Akbar Hussain Durrani said about 35 mud-brick homes were damaged in Baluchistan province.