According to an official, a huge earthquake struck a remote mountainous region of southwestern Pakistan dotted with coal mines and mud dwellings early today, killing at least 11 people and injuring more than 200.

According to Suhail Anwar Shaheen, the area's deputy commissioner, the death toll is expected to grow as officials search the inaccessible mountainous terrain.

According to reports from coal miners in the area, at least four of the dead were killed when the coal mine in which they were working collapsed.

According to the US Geological Survey, the epicentre of the 5.7 magnitude earthquake occurred 14 kilometers north-northeast of Harnai in Baluchistan province. It happened around 20 kilometers beneath the surface.

The area is littered with coal mines, about 100 kilometers from Quetta, the province capital, and Shaheen is concerned that the death toll may climb. It happened early in the morning, when a large number of miners were already on the job, he claimed.