t least 920 people have been killed and hundreds more injured after a powerful earthquake hit southeastern Afghanistan overnight, a top official from the country’s Disaster Management Authority said.
Sharafuddin Mushtaq, deputy state secretary for the agency stated that eastern Paktika was hardest hit. He said that rescue and helicopter teams were dispatched to affected areas.
A Taliban spokesperson Bilal Karimi stated that damage and casualties were also reported in Nangahar and Khost, which are both near Pakistan.
Karimi appealed to international aid agencies for assistance in rescuing those trapped and destroyed homes following Wednesday’s 6.1 magnitude earthquake.
According to U.S. Geological Survey the epicenter of the earthquake occurred at 44km (27miles) distance from Khost. This was near the Pakistani border. The earthquake had a depth 51 kilometers.
— With assistance from Jane Pong.
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