At least one person was killed and around 30 others injured when an earthquake measuring 5.5 on the Richter scale struck northwest Pakistan -- including the capital Islamabad -- on Saturday.

The earthquake, with its epicenter in the Hindukush mountains of neighboring Afghanistan, struck parts of northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Punjab provinces, Azad Kashmir and Islamabad in the afternoon.

However, reports of casualties and property damage started to arrive in the evening although telecommunication services in the affected areas were suspended.

The lone casualty, according to local ARY TV channel, was from the Abbottabad district while 12 people were injured in Naran, a famous tourist destination.

Over a dozen students were also injured after the wall of a local college collapsed due to the tremors in Muzaffarabad, capital of Pakistani-controlled Kashmir, local channel Dunya TV reported.

Television channels broadcast footage of terrified residents -- including women and children -- rushing out of their homes in quake-hit parts of the country.

Pakistan is among the most earthquake-prone regions in the world.The country is located on the Eurasian Tectonic Plate, which is known for high levels of seismic activity.

A 7.8-magnitude earthquake had killed over 80,000 people, and left 3 million homeless in northwestern Pakistan and Kashmir in October 2005.