At least 920 people were killed and 600 injured in a massive earthquake that hit a remote border region in southeastern Afghanistan late Tuesday, authorities said, fearing the death toll could rise.
“The information we have received indicates that at least 920 people have died and another 600 have been injured,” Sharaf al-Din Muslim, assistant minister for natural disasters, said yesterday.
Afghan Supreme Leader Hebatullah Akhundzada has previously reported casualties indicating at least 300 deaths in Paktika and Khost provinces. “Hundreds of houses were destroyed,” he said in a media statement.
“Many houses have been destroyed and their residents are still under the rubble,” said Bilal Karimi, a deputy official with the Afghan government. “We are calling on relief agencies to provide immediate assistance to those affected by the earthquake to avoid a humanitarian catastrophe,” he wrote on Twitter.
According to the US Seismological Institute, the earthquake with a magnitude of 5.9 struck at a depth of 10 kilometers at about 1:30 am near the border with Pakistan.
According to the same source, a second earthquake of magnitude 4.5 occurred in the same place around the same time.
Yaqub Manzoor, a tribal leader from Paktika, said many of the wounded were from the Jayan region in the state and were taken to hospital by ambulances and helicopters.
Pakistani Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif expressed “deep sadness” over the tragedy and indicated that the Pakistani authorities are working to provide support to their neighbour.
“The EU is monitoring the situation and stands ready to coordinate and provide emergency assistance,” EU Special Representative for Afghanistan Thomas Nicholson tweeted.
The United Nations also said it was looking into needs for assistance.
