Afghanistan earthquake’s death toll rises to at least 950
An earthquake struck eastern Afghanistan early Wednesday, killing at least 950 people, authorities said.
The state-run Bakhtar News Agency also said that at least 610 have been injured in the disaster. It also said 216 people were killed and more than 300 were injured in the Gyan district of the Paktika province alone.
“A severe earthquake shook four districts of Paktika province, killing and injuring hundreds of our countrymen and destroying dozens of houses,” Bilal Karimi, a deputy spokesman for the Taliban government, separately wrote on Twitter. “We urge all aid agencies to send teams to the area immediately to prevent further catastrophe.”
Neighbouring Pakistan’s Meteorological Department put the earthquake at a magnitude 6.1. Tremors were felt in the Pakistani capital, Islamabad, and elsewhere in the eastern Punjab province.
The European seismological agency, EMSC, said the earthquake’s tremors were felt over 500 kilometres (310 miles) by 119 million people across Afghanistan, Pakistan and India.
