Afghanistan’s Earthquake: Death Toll Rises to 1000 People, At Least 1500 Injured

By Staff, Agencies

The toll from the powerful 6.1-magnitude earthquake that has struck Afghanistan rose to 1,000 people dead and more than 1,500 others wounded in the provinces of Paktika and Khost.

The US Geological Survey [USGS] indicated that the quake struck some 44 km from the city of Khost in southeastern Afghanistan and shook parts of Pakistan.

The USGS originally reported that a 6.1-magnitude quake struck Khost, as Afghanistan's Bakhtar news agency said that the casualties were reported in the Barmala, Ziruk, Naka, and Gayan districts of Paktika province.

Reuters cited an interior ministry official, Salahuddin Ayubi, as saying that most of the confirmed deaths were in the eastern province of Paktika.

"The death toll is likely to rise as some of the villages are in remote areas in the mountains and it will take some time to collect details," Ayubi warned.

Bilal Karimi, a spokesperson for the Taliban government tweeted that "Unfortunately, last night there was a severe earthquake in four districts of Paktika province, which killed and injured hundreds of our countrymen and destroyed dozens of houses."

Government officials said they would soon release details of casualties and damage caused by the quake.

Photographs posted on social media showed several heavily damaged mud houses in remote rural areas.

Afghanistan is frequently hit by earthquakes, especially in the Hindu Kush mountain range, which lies near the junction of the Eurasian and Indian tectonic plates.