Health Ministry says number of deaths could rise as rescue operations continue in remote areas of affected provinces
The death toll from the devastating earthquake that struck eastern Afghanistan on Sunday night climbed to nearly 1,000, a health official confirmed Tuesday.
Sharafat Zaman, spokesman for the Health Ministry, told local Shamshad TV that so far 1,000 people have been killed, mostly in Kunar province.
He said the number of casualties could rise further as rescue operations continue in remote and mountainous areas where access remains difficult.
Nearly 3,000 people have been injured, an official of the interim administration told Anadolu. Nangarhar, Laghman, and Panjshir are the other three provinces affected by the earthquake.
It is the third major earthquake to have hit a war-torn nation since the return of the Afghan Taliban to power in August 2021.
The US Geological Survey (USGS) recorded the quake at 11.47 pm local time (1917GMT), located 27 kilometers (16.7 miles) east-northeast of Jalalabad at a depth of 8 km (5 mi) on Sunday night, when most of the residents were asleep.
Kunar is the hardest-hit province, where the devastating earthquake destroyed several villages.
The spokesman for the interim Afghan administration in Kunar province, Abdul Ghani, told Anadolu that rescue and relief teams had already arrived in the affected areas, and the operation has continued since Monday.
"The death toll may rise as many people are still under the rubble," he said.
He added that dozens of houses were destroyed in the Nur Gal, Sawki, Watpur, Manogi, and Chapa Dara districts of the province.
The Afghan interim administration dispatched relief goods and medical teams in the area on Monday, and Ghani said more aid was on the way from Kabul.Several nations, including neighboring Pakistan, Iran, China, and India, as well as Western nations, have pledged to send aid to Afghanistan.
