Raja Farooq Haider Khan, the Prime Minister of Pakistan-administered Kashmir, told CNN at least 20 people have died and 435 were injured.

Footage of the incident's aftermath showed uprooted trees and cars wedged into cracks created by the earthquake.

At least 100 people are being treated at a district hospital, according to Raja Farooq Haider Khan, Prime Minister of Pakistan-administered Kashmir.

Pakistan Armed Forces spokesman, Major General Asif Ghafoor, said in a tweet that "army troops with aviation and medical support" had been dispatched to the region.

According to the United States Geological Survey, the earthquake struck at a depth of 6.2 miles.

The chairman of the National Disaster Management Authority, Lieutenant General Mohammad Afzal, said the nearby Mangla Dam was unaffected by the earthquake, Agence France-Presse (AFP) reported.

Indian officials have said the Indian districts of Baramulla, Jammu and Srinagar all issued statements saying there was no damage due to the earthquake.

The earthquake's epicenter was just 30 km west of Indian-controlled Kashmir.

An almost complete communications blackout has been imposed in Indian-controlled Kashmir, after the government in Delhi moved to scrap the region's special status.

Sophia Saifi and Adeel Raja reported from Islamabad. Tara John wrote from London.