Afghanistan hit by huge 6.0 magnitude earthquake as more than 800 feared dead
A magnitude 6.0 earthquake struck Afghanistan on Sunday night, leaving dozens of houses under rubble and hundreds feared dead.
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The quake struck in country's northeastern province of Kunar near the Pakistan border at around 11.47pm local time (8.17pm UK time) on Sunday, the German Research Centre for Geosciences said.
Rescuers are reportedly working in multiple districts of the mountainous province affected by the disaster, the Taliban government has said.
Taliban government officials say more than 800 people have died and at least 2,800 others injured.
Sharafat Zaman, health ministry spokesperson, said: “The number of casualties and injuries is high, but since the area is difficult to access, our teams are still on site.”
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“Some of the injured have been evacuated, and victims trapped under collapsed houses have been recovered," he added.
Local officials say hundreds of injured people have already been taken to hospital, with figures expected to rise.
But Taliban government sources have claimed “hundreds are dead”, with many more injured.
“The numbers of the injured and the dead are likely higher, but since the area has limited access and communication, our teams are still on the ground. Once accurate figures are collected, God willing, we will share them with you," Mr Zaman said.
The government has reportedly deployed helicopters to transport the injured to Nangarhar Airport.
Officials have said "dozens of houses are under rubble”, mostly in Mazar valley, a mountainous are in the Norgal district of Kunar province which shares a border with Pakistan.
The earthquake’s epicentre was near Jalalabad, Nangarhar province, which is around 119km away from the capital city, Kabul.
It occurred at a depth of 14km before a second earthquake in the same province about 20 minutes later struck with a magnitude of 4.5 and a depth of 10km.
A third quake with a 5.2 magnitude at the same depth followed.
It comes after flash floods swept through the same region over the weekend.
At least five people in the Nangarhar and Kunar regions, with at least 400 families were affected, according to the International Organization for Migration said on Sunday.