Earthquake kills 250, injures 500 in Afghanistan

KABUL – An earthquake struck eastern Afghanistan’s Kunar province on Sunday night local time, killing at least 250 people and injuring 500 across multiple districts, state-owned Bakhtar News Agency reported on Monday.

The provincial disaster authority confirmed the fatalities and injuries, according to the media.

Officials noted that the toll is preliminary, as rescue teams have been reaching remote areas with limited communication, the official media outlet reported, adding that efforts are ongoing to assess the full extent of the damage and provide aid to affected communities.

Afghanistan National Radio and TV previously reported nine deaths and 20 injuries in eastern Nangarhar province.

According to the US Geological Survey’s earthquake information network, a 6.0-magnitude earthquake struck Afghanistan at 11:47 pm local time on Aug 31.

The epicenter was located 27 km northeast of Jalalabad, the capital of Nangarhar province in eastern Afghanistan, at a depth of eight km.

Strong tremors were felt in the capital Kabul, and Internet outages occurred in parts of Afghanistan.(Agencies)