Photo: RT / AFP
At least seven people died, dozens sustained injuries and many homes were destroyed when a powerful 5.7-magnitude earthquake struck eastern Afghanistan, officials said.
Six people died in Nangarhar province and 75 were injured, local spokesperson Ahmad Zia Abdulzai said. Forty of the wounded were given first aid, and the rest were admitted to hospital for further treatment.
“We are still in the process of getting information from the affected areas. Among the dead are some children,” AFP quoted Abdulzai as saying.
One person was killed and one was injured in neighboring Kunar province, where hundreds of homes collapsed, provincial governor spokesperson Wasifullah Wasifi said, as cited by Reuters.
Resident fled their destroyed homes in the worst-hit areas after the 5.7-magnitude quake struck northeastern Afghanistan, the US Geological Survey reported. The resulting tremors were felt as far away as India’s capital New Delhi.
The epicenter of the quake was 11km south of the town of Mehtar Lam, the US Geological Survey reported. The city of Jalalabad, which has a population of more than 200,000, is also nearby, some 25km southwest of the epicenter. The quake was estimated to have struck at a depth of 65km.
RT has the full article
