Authorities in Pakistan and neighboring Afghanistan intensified rescue and relief operations Tuesday in rugged, earthquake-affected areas as the death toll rose to at least 270.<br />Monday’s 7.5-magnitude quake was centered deep beneath the Hindu Kush mountains in Afghanistan’s sparsely populated Badakhshan province, which borders Pakistan, Tajikistan and China, the U.S. Geological Survey said.<br />Pakistani government official Amir Afaq said Tuesday that civil and military authorities had reached the remote, impoverished areas in the country’s northwest to help the quake victims.<br />“We are transporting tents, medicines and other items to quake-hit areas,” he said.<br />The quake damaged nearly 2,000 homes in the area, he said.<br />At least 237 people were killed in Pakistan, with more than 1,500 injured, while Afghan officials reported 33 dead and more than 200 injured.
