Afghanistan earthquake kills at least 920 people; scores wounded in Paktika province

A powerful earthquake of magnitude 6.1 has killed over 900 people and left scores injured in Afghanistan's Paktika province. According to an Afghan emergency official, at least 920 people lost their lives and 600 have been left injured.

Pictures shared on social media showed people on stretchers, rubble and ruined homes with local government officials stating the death toll is likely to rise.

The quake struck about 44km (27 miles) from the south-eastern city of Khost in Afghanistan at a depth of 50.8 km and its exact time was 1:54 am local time. Tremors were felt across more than 500km of Afghanistan, Pakistan and India, according to the European Mediterranean Seismological Centre.

"Unfortunately, last night there was a severe earthquake in four districts of Paktika province, which killed and injured hundreds of our countrymen and destroyed dozens of houses. We urge all aid agencies to send teams to the area immediately to prevent further catastrophe," Bilal Karimi, a deputy spokesman for the Taliban government, wrote on Twitter.

Meanwhile, the head of the Taliban administration’s natural disaster ministry, Mohammad Nassim Haqqani, said they would provide an update once they had completed further investigation but believed there were casualties. “According to our primary information the earthquake had casualties and damage, we are investigating,” he said. There were no immediate reports of damage or deaths in Pakistan. 

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• Afghanistan
• Afghanistan Earthquake