Afghan-Pakistani border: At least 950 dead after earthquake in Afghanistan

According to official figures, at least 950 people died in a violent earthquake late Tuesday evening (local time) in the border region between Afghanistan and Pakistan.

At least 600 residents in eastern Afghanistan were injured after the quake late Tuesday evening, the state news agency Bakhtar reported on Wednesday, citing local authorities.

A significantly higher number of victims is feared.

A spokesman for the ruling Taliban also spoke of dozens of destroyed houses in four affected districts of the province bordering Pakistan.

Local media reported that one village was 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.

Photos and videos on the internet and social media show the extent of the destruction.

Hundreds of mud-brick houses have been destroyed and the villages are piled with rubble.

Desperate people dig with their bare hands in the rubble of the collapsed houses for victims.

The information from regional seismic stations on the strength initially fluctuated.

Pakistani authorities gave the earthquake late Tuesday evening (local time) with a magnitude of 6.1.

The US earthquake monitor (USGS) reported magnitude 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.

According to Pakistani information, the tremors were felt in large parts of the country, in the capital Islamabad and even in Lahore in the east of the country.

According to the civil protection authority, local emergency services tried to gain access to the affected remote mountainous region.

The Pakistani side initially gave no information on damage and casualties.