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An earthquake of magnitude 6.1 killed more than 1,000 people in Afghanistan early on Wednesday, disaster management officials said, with nearly 1,600 injured and the toll expected to grow as information trickles in from remote mountain villages.
"More than 1000 people were killed and over 1500 others injured in Paktika province," the Head of Information and Culture Department of the province told state-run Bakhtar News Agency.
He added that the death toll could rise as rescue operations still continue in the Gayan and Barmal districts of the province.
Wednesday's quake was the deadliest since 2002. It struck about 44 km (27 miles) from the southeastern city of Khost, near the border with Pakistan, the US Geological Survey (USGC) said.
The landlocked country's eastern province of Paktika was the most affected, with reports of significant damage from the areas of Giyan, Nakai, Bermal and Zerak. In Khost province, the area of Seprai bore the brunt of the early morning tremors.
Video: A devastating earthquake on early Wednesday morning has killed and injured hundreds of people in southeastern Afghanistan. The epicenter was near Khost city and officials said the majority of casualties were reported in Paktika.#TOLOnews pic.twitter.com/9x5hD3zj1W
— TOLOnews (@TOLOnews) June 22, 2022
Taliban supreme leader Hibatullah Akhundzada expressed grief over the loss of life and directed all concerned officials and departments to take immediate steps to give relief to the affected families.
Photographs on Afghan media showed houses reduced to rubble, with bodies swathed in blankets lying on the ground. Helicopters were deployed in the rescue effort to reach the injured and fly in medical supplies and food, said an interior ministry official, Salahuddin Ayubi.
"The death toll is likely to rise as some of the villages are in remote areas in the mountains and it will take some time to collect details."
Shaking was felt by about 119 million people in Pakistan, Afghanistan, and India, the European Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC) said on Twitter.
"Strong and long jolts," a resident of the Afghan capital, Kabul, posted on the website of EMSC.
"It was strong," said a resident of the northwestern Pakistani city of Peshawar.
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The head of the Taliban administration's natural disaster ministry, Mohammad Nassim Haqqani, said the majority of deaths were in the province of Paktika, where 100 people were killed and 250 injured.
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Another 25 people were killed in Khost and five in Nangarhar province, he said, adding that investigations were being conducted to determine if there were more casualties.
According to local media reports, at least one death was also recorded in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa.
The disaster comes as Afghanistan grapples with a severe economic crisis since the Taliban took over, as US-led international forces withdrew following two decades of war. In response to the Taliban takeover, many nations imposed sanctions on Afghanistan's banking sector and cut billions of dollars worth of development aid.
Humanitarian aid has continued, however, with international agencies, such as the United Nations, operating. The UN's Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA) said Afghanistan had asked humanitarian agencies to help with rescue efforts, and teams were being despatched to the quake-hit area.
A spokesman of Afghanistan's foreign ministry said it would welcome international help.
PM Shehbaz offers condolences
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif expressed grief over the loss of lives and destruction caused in Afghanistan, particularly in Paktika, due to the earthquake, and prayed for the departed souls and their families.
"We stand with our Afghan brothers and sisters in this time of need," the premier said in a statement.
Deeply grieved to learn about earthquake in Afghanistan, resulting in loss of innocent lives. People in Pakistan share the grief & sorrow of their Afghan brethren. Relevant authorities working to support Afghanistan in this time of need.
— Shehbaz Sharif (@CMShehbaz) June 22, 2022
Shehbaz said Pakistan will help Afghanistan in any way it can, adding that the concerned authorities have been directed to provide aid to Afghanistan.
I am saddened over loss of precious lives by earthquake in Afghanistan & express my sympathies with the affectees. I pray for the deceased, the injured & offer condolences to bereaved families. Pakistan stands in solidarity with the people of Afghanistan in this hour of need.
— The President of Pakistan (@PresOfPakistan) June 22, 2022
President Arif Alvi also expressed grief at the loss of lives in Afghanistan. He assured that "Pakistan stands in solidarity with the people of Afghanistan in this time of need".
چیئرمین پی پی پی اور وزیر خارجہ بلاول بھٹو زرداری کا افغانستان میں زلزلے کی تباہ کاریوں پر اظہار افسوس
افغانستان میں زلزلے کے نتیجے میں سینکڑوں قیمتی انسانی جانوں کا ضیاع باعث صدمہ ہے، وزیرخارجہ بلاول بھٹو زرداری@BBhuttoZardari
— PPP (@MediaCellPPP) June 22, 2022
Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari expressed solidarity with the people of the war-torn country and said officials and authorities from both countries were coordinating to extend relief to the affected areas.
My condolences & prayers go to the Govt & people of Afghanistan for the loss of lives suffered in the earthquake. I have asked the KP Govt to especially facilitate provision of all medical assistance.
— Imran Khan (@ImranKhanPTI) June 22, 2022
Former prime minister Imran Khan expressed grief at the loss of lives and destruction and said he had "asked the KP govt to especially facilitate provision of all medical assistance".
Large parts of South Asia are seismically active because a tectonic plate known as the Indian plate is pushing north into the Eurasian plate.
In 2015, an earthquake struck the remote Afghan northeast, killing several hundred people in Afghanistan and nearby northern Pakistan. In January, an earthquake struck western Afghanistan, killing more than 20 people.
Additional reporting by Shahabullah Yousafzai
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