Afghanistan earthquake kills at least 622 people

Around 622 people have died and more than 1,500 were injured in a powerful earthquake that struck eastern Afghanistan, officials reported on Monday. Helicopters have been deployed to evacuate the wounded as rescue teams search through the rubble for survivors.

The disaster is expected to further strain Afghanistan’s already limited resources, as the country continues to face ongoing humanitarian crises, including reduced international aid and the forced return of citizens from neighboring countries.

The quake, measuring magnitude 6, caused over 1,500 injuries, according to a statement from the Taliban-led Afghan Interior Ministry, which put the death toll at 622.

Earlier, the state-run Radio Television Afghanistan (RTA) had reported around 500 fatalities.

In Kabul, authorities said rescue teams are working urgently to reach remote villages in an area frequently affected by earthquakes and floods.

“Data from just a few clinics show over 400 injured and dozens of deaths,” ministry spokesperson Sharafat Zaman said, cautioning that the numbers could rise.

Footage from Reuters Television showed helicopters evacuating victims, while local residents assisted soldiers and medics in transporting the injured to ambulances.

Three villages in Kunar province were reportedly destroyed, with significant damage reported in several others, according to the health ministry.

Provincial information head Najibullah Hanif reported 250 dead and 500 injured in the province, noting that the figures may change as assessments continue.

Early reports showed 30 dead in a single village, with hundreds of injured taken to hospital, authorities said.

Rescuers were scrambling to find survivors in the area bordering Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa region, where homes of mud and stone were levelled by the midnight quake hit at a depth of 10 kilometres.

“So far, no foreign governments have reached out to provide support for rescue or relief work,” a foreign office spokesperson said.

Afghanistan is prone to deadly earthquakes, particularly in the Hindu Kush mountain range, where the Indian and Eurasian tectonic plates meet.

A series of earthquakes in its west killed more than 1,000 people last year, underscoring the vulnerability of one of the world’s poorest countries to natural disasters.