巴基斯坦地震致40人丧生多人受伤

 　　ISLAMABAD, April 17 (Xinhua) -- At least 40 people were killed and over 300 others injured in a 7.9-magnitude earthquake that hit Pakistan on Tuesday afternoon, an official with National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) told Xinhua on Wednesday.

　　Irshad Bhatti, spokesman of NDMA, said that all the causalities took place in Mashkel area of Washuk district in the country's southwestern province of Balochistan.

　　"The rescue teams have confirmed that 40 people have been killed and over 300 others injured and it is possible that the number of causalities could further rise as many people are still buried under debris," said Bhatti.

　　Bhatti said that Military Operations Directorate of Pakistan Army is leading the rescue operation and it has already sent the 62 Wing of Frontier Corps¹ Balochistan and army troops along with teams of doctors and paramedical staff to the earthquake hit areas of Mashkel.

　　Army teams also airlifted food items, tents and medicine to the quake-hit areas via helicopters.

　　Talking about the difficulties in the rescue operation, the NDMA spokesman said that the scattered² population pockets in the hit areas were affecting the disaster estimates and rescue operations.

　　NDMA authorities had already sent a request to the Pakistan Space and Upper Atmosphere Research Commission (SUPARCO) to get the imagery of the affected³ area to speed up the rescue operations.

　　According to the Pakistan Meteorological Office, an earthquake measuring 7.9 magnitude on the Richter scale hit southern and southwestern parts of the country on Tuesday afternoon with its epicenter located at a depth of 76 km in Iran's mountainous area of Khash near Pakistan border.

　　Inter⁴ Services Public Relations (ISPR), Pakistani army's spokesman, told media that two helicopters were taking part in the operation and had already lifted several injured from the affected areas and shifted them to the hospitals in the Washuk, Khuzdar and Quetta districts of the province.

　　Local media reported that over 1,000 houses in the earthquake- hit areas which are home to over 35,000 people, were destroyed in the earthquake.

1 corps   

n.(通信等兵种的)部队；(同类作的)一组

参考例句：

• The medical corps were cited for bravery in combat.医疗队由于在战场上的英勇表现而受嘉奖。
• When the war broke out,he volunteered for the Marine Corps.战争爆发时，他自愿参加了海军陆战队。

2 scattered   

adj.分散的，稀疏的；散步的；疏疏落落的

参考例句：

• Gathering up his scattered papers,he pushed them into his case.他把散乱的文件收拾起来，塞进文件夹里。

3 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

4 inter   

v.埋葬

参考例句：

• They interred their dear comrade in the arms.他们埋葬了他们亲爱的战友。
• The man who died in that accident has been interred.在那次事故中死的那个人已经被埋葬了。