Hundreds killed in Kashmir / Islamabad Earthquake

Pakistan says more than 1,000 may have died in a powerful quake that also hit north India and Afghanistan and wiped out whole villages in Kashmir.

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Many people are feared dead or trapped in a 10-story apartment block in the Pakistani capital Islamabad.

"The quake jolted me awake and I saw people running down the staircase," Sabahat Ahmed, a resident of the apartment, told Reuters.

"By the time the second tremor hit, the building had already started to collapse," he said. "As the building was collapsing people were still coming out from it. I heard and saw various people in a state of panic and many stuck under the collapsed building."

Qaiser Abbas, a receptionist in the building, told The Associated Press that he was sitting in his office when the building suddenly began to shake.

"After five seconds, I heard big sound, and then about 40 apartments collapsed," he said.

Elsewhere, Danny Kemp, deputy Islamabad bureau chief for Agence France-Presse, told CNN that he saw light poles shaking in the city during the quake.

"I've never felt anything like it," he said. "My wife and I grabbed our daughter and ran outside immediately."