At least 250 people have been killed in a strong earthquake in Afghanistan, Afghan officials at the scene told the BBC.
Paktika province was the worst affected as photos and videos of people being taken to hospitals and damaged buildings went viral on social media.
Ambassador of Afghanistan India Fareed Mamundje told News18 that he suspects about 300 people were killed in Wednesday morning’s quake.
Local government officials told the BBC news agency that more than 150 people were injured in the quake. They expect the death toll and the number of injured to rise.
Unfortunately, last night a massive earthquake shook four districts of Paktika province, killing and injuring hundreds of our compatriots and destroying dozens of homes.
We urge all aid agencies to send teams to the area as soon as possible to prevent the disaster from escalating.– Bilal Karimi (Bilal Karimi21) 22 June 2022
The epicenter of the quake was 44 kilometers from the city of Khost in the southeast of Afghanistan.
Just in Afghanistan government-run news agency reports more than 150 people dead #earthquake in the Eastern Province of the country.
— Insider Paper (@TheInsiderPaper) 22 June 2022
Tremors of 6.1 magnitude earthquake were felt across the region Afghanistan and neighboring Pakistan and their capital Kabul and Islamabad.
The European Mediterranean Seismological Center told news agency Reuters that the tremors were felt in India as well.
Unconfirmed news and pictures of casualties and destruction coming in from various parts of the Southeast #afghanistan after last night #earthquake, Dozens of people are said to have died in Gyan, Spire and Paktika and some other districts of Khost. More details to come. pic.twitter.com/opHE7ZTXnZ
— Kabir Huckmal (@huckmal) 22 June 2022
“Unfortunately, a massive earthquake struck four districts of Paktika province last night, killing and injuring hundreds of our countrymen and destroying dozens of homes,” said Bilal Karimi, deputy spokesman for the Taliban-led government.
“We urge all aid agencies to immediately send teams to prevent further devastation,” he added.
The earthquake occurred early in the morning when most of the people were sleeping.
Earlier in January, an earthquake measuring 5.3 on the Richter scale struck Herat, Afghanistan, killing more than 28 people.
The death toll has risen to 300, the most devastating quake to hit Afghanistan since 2015, when an earthquake measuring 7.5 on the Richter scale killed 399 people in the country’s Hindu Kush mountain range.
(with inputs from BBC, AP and CNN)
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