More than 800 people have been killed with at least 2,500 injured after a 6.0 magnitude earthquake struck eastern Afghanistan last night.
The wave hit a series of towns on Sunday at 11.47pm in the province of Kunar, near the Pakistan border, centred 17 miles northeast of the city of Jalabad in Nangarhar.
Some 800 people died and another 2,500 were injured in Kunar, Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid told a press conference in Kabul, adding that the toll of 12 dead and 255 injured in Nangarhar province had not changed.
Hundreds were killed and injured in the districts of Nur Gul, Soki, Watpur, Manogi and Chapadare.
Taliban-led health authorities in Kabul, however, said they were still confirming the official toll figure as they worked to reach remote areas.
Sharafat Zaman, a spokesman for the ministry of public health, said that several villages had been ‘completely destroyed’ by the devastating quake, with rescue operations still underway.
‘The figures for martyrs and injured are changing. Medical teams from Kunar, Nangarhar and the capital Kabul have arrived in the area.’
He said many areas had not been able to report casualty figures and that ‘the numbers were expected to change’ as death and injuries are reported.
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Author: Ray Hilbrich
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