Strong earthquake in Afghanistan leaves more than 250 people dead

At least 280 people they died and more than 200 were injured after a powerful earthquake shake remote parts of southeastern Afghanistanthe country’s disaster management authority said.

Most of the confirmed deaths were in the eastern Afghan province of Paktika, where 255 people were killed, Interior Ministry official Salahuddin Ayubi said on Wednesday.

Earthquake deaths continue to rise

In Khost province, 25 people have died and 90 have been taken to hospital, it said. “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 gather details,” he said.

Footage from Paktika province, near the Pakistani border, showed victims being taken to helicopters to be airlifted out of the area. Images widely circulated online from the province showed stone houses destroyed, with residents picking up clay bricks and other debris.

Afghan journalist Ali M Latifi, reporting from Kabul, said people as far away as the Afghan capital felt the aftershocks. Authorities report that hundreds of houses have been destroyed in the region that has not seen much development, Latifi said.

The United States Geological Survey has revised the earthquake’s magnitude to 5.9. You previously put the magnitude at 6.1. The epicenter of the quake was located about 46 kilometers (27 miles) from the city of Khost, near the border with Pakistan, the USGS said.

Unfortunately, the earthquake strikes at a time when Afghanistan is experiencing a major economic crisis, with little access to basic necessities and medical facilities.

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Source-laverdadnoticias.com