The earthquake struck eastern Afghanistan in the middle of the night, around 1:30 a.m. local time. At least 950 people were killed and hundreds injured in Paktika province, the AP news agency reported. Deaths have also been reported in nearby Nangarhar and Khost provinces. Local media also speak of thousands of injured†
The death toll is expected to rise further. There may still be people under the rubble of the collapsed buildings. According to the local authorities, information is also expected from remote Afghan mountain villages.
The earthquake struck about 44 kilometers from the city of Khost in the province of the same name and near the border with Pakistan. The European Mediterranean Seismological Center (EMSC) reports that the earthquake also affected millions of people in Pakistan felt. No deaths or injuries have yet been reported in neighboring Afghanistan.
A spokesman for the Taliban government said that foreign aid is welcome: “We call on all aid organizations to immediately send rescue teams to the area to prevent a bigger disaster.” The government has already launched a rescue operation itself, the Afghan minister said. of the Interior, Salahuddin Ayubi. The country uses helicopters, among other things, to bring food and medicines to the affected areas and to pick up the injured.
The earthquake is the deadliest since 2002, when about 1,100 people were killed. The deadliest earthquake in Afghan history occurred in 1998 when more than 4,500 people were killed. The mountainous South Asian region is known as a seismically active area. About 60 percent of India’s land area is prone to earthquakes, the result of collisions between the Indian subcontinent and the Eurasian landmass.