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Death toll from Afghanistan earthquake rises above 600
More than 620 people have been killed and over 1,500 injured after a powerful earthquake struck eastern Afghanistan, authorities announced on Monday.
Rescue teams continue to search for survivors among the rubble. In one village alone, 30 victims were reported, but officials warn that the exact toll is still unknown due to the remoteness of the mountainous region and the scattered nature of its settlements.
“The number of casualties is high, but since the area is difficult to access, our teams are still on the ground,” said Sharafat Zaman, spokesperson for the Afghan Ministry of Health.
The earthquake, which occurred around midnight at a depth of 10 kilometers, destroyed mud and stone houses near the border with Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.
The Taliban-led government has appealed for urgent international assistance, stressing in a statement on X that the disaster has caused “loss of life and material damage in several eastern provinces.”
The quake-hit areas were already struggling with the aftermath of weekend floods that left at least five dead in Nangarhar and Kunar provinces, triggered landslides, damaged infrastructure, and temporarily blocked cross-border traffic with Pakistan.