According to official figures, at least 920 people died in a violent earthquake late Tuesday evening (local time) in the Afghan-Pakistani border region. At least 600 others were injured in the quake in Paktika province, Taliban Deputy State Minister for Disaster Management Maulawi Sharafuddin Muslim said on Wednesday.
According to official figures, at least 920 people died in a violent earthquake in the Afghan-Pakistani border region. At least 600 residents in eastern Afghanistan were injured after the quake late Tuesday night, Taliban Deputy State Minister for Disaster Management Maulawi Sharafuddin Muslim said on Wednesday. Initially, there was talk of 250 fatalities. A significantly higher number of victims is feared.
A spokesman for the ruling Taliban said dozens of houses had been destroyed in Paktika and Khost provinces. Afghan media reported that one village had been completely destroyed.
The rescue work was made more difficult by the access to the remote mountain region. The militant Islamist Taliban, who have ruled Afghanistan again since August 2021, called an emergency cabinet meeting. Several helicopters were sent to the disaster area to help local people. A government spokesman called on aid organizations for support. Helpers from the Red Crescent arrived on Wednesday.
The US earthquake monitoring station (USGS) reported the magnitude of the quake shortly before 11 p.m. on Tuesday (local time) as 5.9 and a slightly weaker aftershock. Accordingly, the center of the earthquake was around 50 kilometers southwest of the city of Khost near the border with Pakistan at a depth of around ten kilometers. Pakistani authorities registered the earthquake with a magnitude of 6.1.
According to Pakistani information, the tremors were felt in large parts of the neighboring country – including in the capital Islamabad and even in Lahore in the east of the country. Panic broke out in some places, but according to initial information, nothing was known about damage or injuries in Pakistan. Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif expressed his dismay on the Internet and promised help for the people in the neighboring country.
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