Afghan earthquake: At least 1,000 people killed and 1,500 injured
About 1000 people were killed and more than 600 injured as an earthquake hit southeastern Afghan provinces this morning.
According to Reuters, the Afghanistan Disaster Management Agency said an earthquake hit eastern Paktika, Nangarhar and Khost provinces, and the casualty count so far is uncertain. More people are expected to be under the rubble.
“Many houses have been destroyed and people are still under the rubble”, said Afghan government deputy spokesman Bilal Karimi.
He tweeted:”We call on aid agencies to provide immediate assistance to earthquake victims to avoid a humanitarian disaster”.
The US Geological Survey said: The earthquake that hit Afghanistan in the early hours of the morning was strong at 6.1 on the Richter scale and had its epicenter at a depth of 51 kilometers, the BBC reported.
The Euro-Mediterranean Seismological Center quoted eyewitnesses as saying they felt the strong earthquake in the Afghan and Pakistani capitals of Islamabad.
The earthquake was felt some 500 kilometers from its epicenter, both within Afghanistan, and in neighboring Pakistan and India, although it caused no major damage or injuries in Kabul or Islamabad.
