Afghanistan earthquake kills at least 255 people
An earthquake struck eastern Afghanistan early Wednesday, killing at least 255 people, authorities said.
Information remained scarce on the magnitude 6 quake that struck Paktika province, but it will likely complicate any relief efforts that the international community has largely left Afghanistan since the Taliban takeover of the country last year, and the chaotic withdrawal of the US military and NATO forces.
The state-run Bakhtar news agency reported the death toll and said rescuers were arriving by helicopter. The news agency's director-general, Abdul Wahid Rayan, wrote on Twitter that 90 houses have been destroyed in Paktika and dozens of people are believed trapped under the rubble.
Footage from Paktika province near the Pakistan border showed victims being carried into helicopters to be airlifted from the area. Images widely circulating online from the province showed destroyed stone houses, with residents picking through clay bricks and other rubble.
Bakhtar posted footage of a resident receiving IV fluids from a plastic chair outside the rubble of his home and others sprawled on stretchers. He said Afghanistan Red Cross staff were deployed in the area to help.
“A severe earthquake shook four districts of Paktika province, killing and injuring hundreds of our countrymen and destroying dozens of houses,” Bilal Karimi, a deputy spokesman for the Taliban government, separately wrote on Twitter. “We urge all aid agencies to send teams to the area immediately to prevent further catastrophe.”
In neighboring Khost province, authorities believed there are also dozens injured and dead in the earthquake as well, Rayan said.
Neighboring Pakistan’s Meteorological Department put the earthquake at a magnitude 6.1. Tremors were felt
Read more on euronews.com
