QUETTA - A powerful earthquake with 6.3 magnitude struck the Balochistan port city of Gwadar and adjacent areas on Wednesday, said the American Geological Survey.

According to the reports, the magnitude was recorded as 6.3 with an epicenter just 23 kilometres (14 miles) southwest of Pakistan’s coastal city of Pasni.

The quake, which was originally registered as magnitude 6.6, hit 23 kilometers southwest of the city of Pasni at a depth of 10 kilometers. The cities of Turbat and Gwadar are also within 90 kilometers from the epicenter of the quake.

No heavy damages or casualties were immediately reported in the aftermath of the quake, Aslam Tareen, director general, Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA), told The Nation.

Some minor damages to houses and walls were reported in Pasni, the DG said, adding three districts of Makran division have been put on high alert and PDMA teams under an assistant director had been despatched to the earthquake-hit districts. The teams had jointly started rescue and relief operations in collaboration with the Pak Navy and district administration, Tareen stated.

Aslam Tareen affirmed tsunami warning was also issued in the wake of powerful quake in coastal areas of Gwadar, Jiwani, Ormara and Pasni. The warning was, however, withdrawn after normalisation of the situation.

The rescue teams are conducting survey and monitoring the situation, said the PDMA DG, adding no repots of major damages or casualties had been received from any area. All the departments concerned had been alerted in the wake of aftershocks, Aslam Tareen stated.