At least 250 people have been killed and more than 400 injured after a powerful earthquake struck eastern Afghanistan late Sunday, officials confirmed, according to news agency Associated Press.
The tremor, measuring 6.0 on the Richter scale, was recorded at 11:47 pm local time (12:47 am IST), according to the National Centre for Seismology (NCS).
The quake’s epicentre was located at latitude 34.50N and longitude 70.81E, at a depth of 160 km in southeastern Afghanistan. The shaking was felt across large parts of the region, including Pakistan and northern India, where residents in Delhi-NCR and other cities reported strong tremors and rushed out of buildings in fear.
The initial jolt was followed by a series of aftershocks, measuring 4.7, 4.3, 5.0, and 5.0, further adding to the alarm and damage in affected areas.
Three villages in the Kunar province were completely razed, and numerous others sustained heavy damage, according to the Afghan Health Ministry. “Figures from just a few clinics show over 400 injured and dozens of fatalities,” said ministry spokesperson Sharafat Zaman, warning that casualty numbers could rise sharply as more information emerges.
Najibullah Hanif, provincial head of information in Kunar, confirmed that at least 250 people were killed and 500 injured, though he acknowledged the numbers were preliminary. Early reports indicated 30 deaths in a single village, with hundreds of injured rushed to hospitals in nearby areas.
The region’s vulnerable infrastructure, made up largely of mud and stone homes, collapsed easily under the force of the quake.
As of Monday morning, no foreign governments had formally offered assistance. “So far, no foreign governments have reached out to provide support for rescue or relief work,” a spokesperson for Afghanistan’s foreign office confirmed.
Afghanistan lies along a major seismic fault line, where the Indian and Eurasian tectonic plates collide, making it one of the most earthquake-prone regions in Asia. The Hindu Kush mountain range has historically seen frequent and deadly quakes.
Rescue operations are ongoing in the hardest-hit areas.
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