The Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Javed Bajwa has directed to carry out immediate rescue operation in aid of the civil administration for victims of earthquake in Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK), the Dispatch News Desk (DND) news agency reported.

In a statement on Tuesday, the Director General Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR) Major General said that Pakistan army troops with aviation and medical support teams have been dispatched to the earthquake-hit areas.

Earlier, a powerful earthquake measuring 5.8 on the Richter Scale in different parts of the Country on Tuesday afternoon.

The epicenter of the earthquake was 5 kilometer north of Jhelum while its depth was recorded as 10 kilometers, according to the National Seismic Monitoring Centre in Islamabad.

The tremors were felt in Islamabad, Lahore, Faisalabad, Daska, Peshawar, Chiniot, Mansehra, Batagram, Torghar, Mirpur (Azad Kashmir), Bhimber (Azad Kashmir), Jhelum, and Mandi Bahauddin.

So far as per reports, Mirpur area of Azad Jammu & Kashmir (AJK) has been the most affected by the earthquake, wherein multiple buildings were damaged and roads were cracked.

The Deputy Commissioner (DC) Mirpur Azad Kashmir Raja Qaiser also confirmed the death of one woman.

Sources said that four people died and more than 50 including women and children suffered injuries when the earthquake created havoc in Mirpur.