At Least 255 People killed during a 6.1 magnitude earthquake in Southeast Afghanistan

According to the country’s official news agency, a 6.1 magnitude earthquake struck southeast Afghanistan, killing at least 255 people.

The earthquake struck early Wednesday morning local time, with its epicentre near the town of Khost south of Kabul, according to the US Geological Survey.

At least 255 people were killed and 155 others were injured in the Paktika province districts of Barmala, Ziruk, Naka, and Gayan, according to Afghanistan’s Bakhtar news agency on Wednesday morning. Rescue teams were being airlifted into the affected areas.

According to a resident who posted on the website of the European Mediterranean Seismological Centre, “strong and long jolts” were felt in Kabul 200 kilometres away (EMSC).

According to Mohammad Nassim Haqqani, the head of the Taliban administration’s disaster management authority, deaths have also been reported in the eastern provinces of Khost and Nangarhar.

Bakhtar stated that local officials were concerned that the death toll would rise if the central government did not provide emergency assistance.

“A severe earthquake shook four districts of Paktika province, killing and injuring hundreds of our countrymen and destroying dozens of houses,” wrote Bilal Karimi, the Taliban government’s deputy spokesperson, on Twitter. “We urge all aid organizations to send teams to the area as soon as possible to prevent further disaster.”

The earthquake had a magnitude of 6.1, according to Pakistan’s meteorological department. Tremors were felt in Pakistan’s capital, Islamabad, as well as other parts of the eastern Punjab province.

According to the European Mediterranean Seismological Centre, the shaking was also felt in Pakistan to the east of the quake’s epicentre.