Pakistan declared a state of emergency on Tuesday in the south-western district struck by a powerful 7.7 magnitude earthquake that has killed scores of people and flattened houses in remote villages, officials said.

The quake struck at 4:29 pm (1129 GMT) in Awaran district in Balochistan province, said Kamran Zia, spokesman for the National Disaster Management Authority.

At least 80 people were confirmed dead, said a spokesman for paramilitary Frontier Constabulary (FC), which was taking part in rescue operation.

“The toll may go up when information starts trickling in from remote parts of Awaran tomorrow,” said FC spokesman Khan Wasseh.

Deputy speaker of the Balochistan provincial assembly Mir Abdul Qadus put the death toll at 150, citing conversations with people in the area.

The government called in the military to lead the rescue operations.

More than 300 troops were searching through debris to look for survivors, a statement by the military’s media wing said.

Army helicopters were airlifting injured and supplying food and medicines in areas not accessible by road.

But the rescue operation would have to be stopped soon due to darkness and bad weather, Wasseh said at around 10:00 pm local time (1700 GMT).

Tariq Chandio, a civilian administrator in nearby Khuzdar district overseeing the rescue work in his area, said several mud houses and shops had been destroyed.

Television footage showed people waiting outside on the ground amid rubble.

Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, who is in New York for the UN General Assembly, expressed sorrow over the losses.

The quake was felt across south-western and southern regions of Pakistan, and tremors were felt as far as the Indian capital New Delhi.

A quake which rocked south-west Pakistan in April killed more than 40 people.

Pakistan suffered the worst quake of its history in 2005, when more than 74,000 people died.

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