Interior Ministry says earthquake in Afghanistan kills at least 610 people and injures 1,300.
(AP)
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Afghanistan Earthquake Live Updates: A day after 6.0 magnitude earthquake struck eastern Afghanistan, another earthquake of 6.6 magnitude was reported in the southeastern region of the country on Tuesday. While rescue workers scramble in a “race against time” through the rough terrain, the death toll has crossed 1,400 and more than 3,000 people have been injured.
India expresses support and solidarity: In a statement posted on X, PM Narendra Modi expressed support and condolences to those affected by the earthquake. “Deeply saddened by the loss of lives due to the earthquake in Afghanistan. Our thoughts and prayers are with the bereaved families in this difficult hour, and we wish a speedy recovery to the injured,” he wrote. “India stands ready to provide all possible humanitarian aid and relief to those affected,” he added. External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar also expressed “support and solidarity to the Afghan people as they respond to it.” “India will extend assistance in this hour of need. Our condolences to the families of the victims. And our prayers for early recovery of the injured,” he added.
Which area is worst affected? The US Geological Survey said the quake hit at 11:47 pm local time, with its epicenter 27 km northeast of Jalalabad in Nangarhar province. At a shallow depth of 8 km, it devastated communities in Kunar province, which officials reported as the worst-hit. In districts like Nur Gul, Soki, Watpur, Manogi and Chapadare, hundreds of homes were damaged or destroyed.
Interior Ministry says earthquake in Afghanistan kills at least 610 people and injures 1,300.
(AP)
According to Reuters, Taliban-run Afghan Interior Ministry spokesperson said that 622 people have been killed, and 1500 have been injured. Earlier reports by the country’s state-run broadcaster Radio Television Afghanistan cited the death toll at 500.
The Taliban government said the earthquake caused “loss of life and property damage” in several eastern provinces. Officials and local residents are carrying out rescue operations in the affected areas, the statement said. Support teams from Kabul and neighbouring provinces are being deployed to assist.
(With inputs from BBC)
(With inputs from BBC)
“So far, no foreign governments have reached out to provide support for rescue or relief work,” a spokesperson for Afghanistan’s foreign office said.
(Reuters)
Rescue teams were scrambling in the border region near Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, where mud and stone homes collapsed. The midnight tremor struck at a depth of just 10 km (6 miles), reported Reuters.
Reuters footage showed helicopters transporting the wounded while soldiers, medics, and residents carried survivors into ambulances.
The disaster comes as Afghanistan already struggles with multiple humanitarian crises, including reduced international aid and mass deportations of citizens from neighbouring countries, reported Reuters.
Residents in Kunar and Nangarhar provinces reported feeling multiple aftershocks through the night, forcing hundreds to leave their homes and seek safety outside, according to local accounts shared with the BBC.
Polad Noori, 28, from Nangarhar province, said he counted at least 13 aftershocks by midnight. “I have never seen such a strong earthquake in my life,” he told the BBC, describing how people spent the night on the streets out of fear.
Much of the earthquake damage is concentrated in Kunar province, where around 90 per cent of the terrain is mountainous, the BBC reports. Narrow roads into the affected areas have been blocked by landslides triggered by the quake, severely complicating aid delivery.
For now, helicopters are the only way to reach survivors.
(With inputs from BBC)
Aftershocks continue to shake eastern Afghanistan following Sunday night’s powerful earthquake. In Sawkai district of Kunar province, 20 people have been confirmed dead and 35 injured in a single village, the BBC reports. Local residents are still pulling bodies from the rubble.
(With inputs from BBC)
Health ministry officials warned that casualty numbers could rise sharply, with some villages completely destroyed. “So far there are no exact figures,” ministry spokesperson Sharafat Zaman said in a statement, according to the BBC. He added that three villages were “completely destroyed and suffered heavy damage.” Rescue teams have evacuated some of the injured and pulled victims from collapsed houses, though Zaman noted that poor access and weak communications were hampering efforts.
(With inputs from BBC)
Afghanistan’s state-run broadcaster said around 500 people have been killed and 1,000 injured in an earthquake in eastern Afghanistan.
(Reuters)
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