Kabul: A powerful, 6.3 magnitude earthquake shook northern Afghanistan before dawn Monday, killing at least 20 people and injuring more than 500 others, a health official said, adding that the numbers could increase.
The US Geological Survey said the quake’s epicentre was located 22 kilometres (14 miles) west-southwest of the town of Khulm, and that it struck at 12:59 a.m. at a depth of 28 kilometres (17 miles).
Sharafat Zaman, a spokesperson for the Ministry of Public Health, said 534 injured people and 20 bodies had been brought to hospitals in Balkh and Samangan provinces. Rescuers were on the scene and the figures were changing, he added. In the nearby province of Badakhshan, the quake partially or completely destroyed 800 houses in one village in the Shahr-e-Bozorg district, said Ihsanullah Kamgar, spokesperson for the provincial police headquarters. But with a lack of internet in the remote area, there were still no accurate casualty figures, he added.
Yousaf Hammad, a spokesman for Afghanistan’s disaster management agency, said most of the injured suffered minor wounds and were discharged after treatment. In the Afghan capital of Kabul, the Ministry of Defence announced that rescue and emergency teams had reached the quake areas in Balkh and Samangan, which suffered the most damage, and were transporting the injured and assisting others. The Taliban government’s chief spokesman, Zabihullah Mujahid, posted on X.
He said government organisations were working to get the needed help.
According to the Afghan officials, the earthquake was also felt in Mazar-e-Sharif, the capital of northern Balkh province, where footage on social media showed damage to the historic Blue Mosque.