The powerful earthquake, which hit South Asia on Monday, has claimed the lives of tens of people in Afghanistan and Pakistan.

The earthquake had a magnitude of 7.5 on the Richter scale and was centered around the mountainous Hindu Kush region.

The earthquake hit northern Afghanistan and tremors were felt in Pakistan and northern India.

At least 51 people are said to have been killed in Pakistan, with another 19 people reported dead in Afghanistan, the BBC informs.

Buildings in the capitals of all three affected countries were evacuated and communications have been disrupted in many areas.

The earthquake caused a stampede at a girls' school in the Afghan province of Takhar, which claimed the lives of 12 students and left another 25 injured.

In the eastern Afghan province of Nangarhar, seven deaths were reported and 71 people injured.

In Pakistan, 28 people were killed in the northern tribal areas, another twenty in the north-west of the country and three more in the Gilgit-Baltistan region

The earthquake occurred at a depth of 212 kilometres and an aftershock with a magnitude of 4.8 on the Richter scale followed suit.

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