A magnitude 6.1 earthquake hit eastern Afghanistan Wednesday.
At least 1,000 people are dead and 1,500 more are injured after the quake struck the Paktika province.
Fox News reported:
An earthquake in eastern Afghanistan killed at least 1,000 people and injured 1,500 others Wednesday morning, according to local authorities, although details of the incident remain limited.
Officials said the death toll is expected to rise even further as the earthquake has become the deadliest temblor in two decades.
The 6.1 magnitude earthquake hit the Paktika province of the country, just 10 months after the chaotic U.S. withdrawal and the departure of most of the international community from the region following last summer’s Taliban takeover, which complicates efforts to offer relief to the nation’s 38 million people.
The death toll was given by Afghan emergency official Sharafuddin Muslim. Wednesday’s earthquake was the deadliest since 2002, when a 6.1 magnitude temblor killed about 1,000 people in northern Afghanistan immediately following the U.S.-led efforts to overthrew the Taliban government following the 9/11 attacks.
VIDEO:
Video has emerged showing the destruction caused by the earthquake in eastern Afghanistan.
Authorities say nearly 1,000 people have been killed and hundreds are injured.
🔗: https://t.co/awyYmAidlJ pic.twitter.com/2EBFaT7pNj
— Al Jazeera English (@AJEnglish) June 22, 2022
According to Afghan state news agency, the death toll has climbed to 2,500.
#BREAKING : The death toll from last night's earthquake in Gyan and Barmal districts of #Paktika province has risen to 2,500, with rescue teams still searching for people buried under the ground. pic.twitter.com/cljBsLdwD6
— Abdul Wahid Rayan، عبدالواحد ریان (@AWahidRayan1) June 22, 2022
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