Deadly quake strikes Afghanistan: As it happened

Pakistani officials say the earthquake has heightened the risk of further landslides, and of glacial lakes overflowing. 

Pakistan Geological Survey head Imran Khan told the BBC there were reports of landslides disrupting the Karakoram highway between Gilgit and Baltistan. 

However, he said it was too early to say if glaciers had been destabilised.

Recent studies showed more than 30 potentially dangerous glacial lakes in northern Pakistan.

Monday's earthquake was very powerful - and it would have caused a lot more damage if it had been any closer to the surface. The BBC's Jonathan Webb explains the science behind the disaster.

These photographs show the aftermath of a stampede, triggered by the earthquake, at an Afghan school. At least 12 girls died, all of them under 16, when pupils in Taluqan, northern Afghanistan, rushed for the exit.

AFP/GettyCopyright: AFP/Getty

AFP/GettyCopyright: AFP/Getty

AFP/GettyCopyright: AFP/Getty

Twitter user ChalPakaMat has posted video of an overpass used by buses in the Pakistani city of Rawalpindi swaying during the earthquake.

Internet users have posted video that appears to show a landslide, triggered by the earthquake, in the Hunza region of Pakistan.

Iran is ready to send rescue workers and humanitarian aid to areas affected by the earthquake, the country's IRNA news agency reports.

Engr Ahmad Shah has been tweeting pictures of the damage in Dir, northern Pakistan.

Earlier the Pentagon confirmed that it had not been asked to provide assistance in Afghanistan. 

Now the US Agency for International Development has confirmed that it has received no requests for aid from either Pakistan or Afghanistan, but it is ready to help when asked. 

Quote Message: The United States stands ready to help should either government request international assistance. However, there are no requests for international assistance at this time. from Sam Ostrander US Agency for International Development

The United States stands ready to help should either government request international assistance. However, there are no requests for international assistance at this time.

Google has launched a service to help locate people affected by the earthquake in Pakistan and Afghanistan. Visitors to its People Finder website can enter information themselves, or search for data provided by others. Google says it cannot verify the information. The tech giant provided a similar service after the earthquake in Nepal earlier this year.

Central Asia was also hit by tremors from the quake.

Radio Liberty is reporting damage in Tajikistan. In Yavan district, 14 children were hurt - four seriously - when a school's main staircase collapsed.

Meanwhile, seven students are said to have been injured after a stampede during the evacuation of Khorog state university.

Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif is cutting short his visit to London and returning home, Pakistani channels Geo News and ARY News report.

The US military has around 10,000 troops still stationed in Afghanistan. However, the Pentagon has told the BBC that they have not received any requests for assistance from the Afghan government. A spokesman said that no US facilities had been damaged by the quake. 

Quote Message: At this time we have no reports of damage to Resolute Support installations in the country, and we have not received any requests for assistance in recovery efforts. We will let you know if that changes. from Col Michael Lawhorn Pentagon spokesman

At this time we have no reports of damage to Resolute Support installations in the country, and we have not received any requests for assistance in recovery efforts. We will let you know if that changes.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi says he has contacted Afghan President Ashraf Ghani and offered all "possible assistance".

The death toll in Pakistan continues to rise - the country's disaster management authority has confirmed that 94 people have been killed in the northern part of the country so far.

At this point the majority of reported casualties are in Pakistan but that could well change as news arrives from remote parts of Afghanistan.

BBC World Have Your Say have been speaking to Azra in Pakistan, who describes what it was like as the quake struck.

Pakistan’s ministry of water and power has been running checks on all its major reservoirs and hydropower plants - it reports that none have been damaged.

EPACopyright: EPA

The Pakistan province of Peshawar appears to have been hit hard by the earthquake. Hundreds of people have rushed to the hospital there, with reports of at least six deaths caused by the quake. 

EPACopyright: EPA

Muhammad Khan in Abbottabad, Pakistan, emailed us: A sudden, shocking tremor started, followed by a huge rumble... and all the birds for miles started squawking and flying about, as the earth started to shake. We were out on the road, close to the main central market of the town and all around us cars were stopping and people shouting, screaming, running out of shops and offices.

Buildings were shaking like cards. I saw several windows and roof tiles fall off from houses. At least seven to eight older houses in our vicinity seemed to have suffered serious damage. We could also hear screams of panic from a nearby school, but, luckily, the teachers seemed to have controlled that before the students ran out and created more damage.

The second most senior politician in the Afghan government has appealed for help from aid agencies. 

The BBC's Shahzeb Jillani says there are reports of major rock slides and landslides blocking traffic on the Karakorum Highway, which connects north Pakistan to China.

Many districts north-west of Islamabad are said to be inaccessible because of damage to roads and bridges. Cell phone networks have also been disrupted.

The Afghan TV station Afghan Ariana was knocked off air by the quake. In this footage you can see the presenter is barely able to stand as the tremors hit. 

Our colleagues at BBC Monitoring report that Pakistan TV has said the death toll in Pakistan has risen to 88.

It adds that the Pakistan army chief, Gen Raheel Shareef, is heading to Peshawar to oversee the rescue operation.

APCopyright: AP

A grim story is emerging in northern Afghanistan in the town of Taluqan. A stampede at a girls' school as they attempted to flee has left 12 dead.

"The students rushed to escape the school building in Taluqan city, triggering a stampede," Takhar education department chief Enayat Naweed told AFP.

"Twelve students, all minors, were killed and 35 others were injured."

The region has a history of powerful earthquakes caused by India and central Asia colliding on a tectonic fault-line. 

Ten years ago, a magnitude 7.6 quake in Pakistan-administered Kashmir left more than 75,000 people dead.

Last April, Nepal suffered its worst earthquake with 9,000 people killed and about 900,000 homes damaged or destroyed.  

Anas in Karimabad, a town in the Hindu Kush mountains in Afghanistan, has described the aftermath of the quake: "We saw a major landslide; some people say it was a glacier that came down, some people say it was a hill. It fell right in front of our eyes."

Video and pictures have emerged, appearing to show landslides in the northern Pakistan province of Gilgit. 

More here on the Gilgit Community Facebook page. 

Reports say that at least three people have died in the province. 

Quote Message: You know when the ground beneath your feet is moving it shakes you. Trust me. And there was nothing to hold on to. from Naveed Ahmad Khan, from Peshawar

You know when the ground beneath your feet is moving it shakes you. Trust me. And there was nothing to hold on to.

A bit of context about what areas have been affected by the earthquake.

The quake's epicentre was in northern Afghanistan.

However, its tremors have caused deaths and damage in Pakistan. Both Pakistan-administered Kashmir and Indian-administered Kashmir have been affected, with reports of deaths in both areas.

BBCCopyright: BBC

Welcome to live coverage of the aftermath of the major earthquake that has hit northern Afghanistan, Pakistan and India.

We will bring you updates as news arrives from the region. Over 60 people are believed to have been killed and officials fear that the death toll will rise.