Over 1000 Dead After 6.1 Magnitude Earthquake Rocks Afghanistan

A powerful earthquake recording 6.1 magnitude on the Richter scale has killed more than 1000 people and injured more in Afghanistan as damages and casualty tally continue to rise.

The earthquake struck around 01:30 AM local time around 44 km away from the south-eastern city of Khost. Most of the casualties were in the Gayan and Barmal districts in Paktika province.

The tremors of the earthquake were felt across Afghanistan, including the capital Kabul and even Pakistan and India. No casualties have been reported in Pakistan and India so far.

According to Taliban official Mawlawi Sharafuddin Muslim, the Deputy Minister of State for Disaster Management, the death toll has reached 920 while 610 people have been injured.

The Taliban officials have called for aid agencies to rush to the affected areas and provide aid to the affected people in the nation's east. Many victims were airlifted for treatment.

As a landlocked country, Afghanistan is prone to quakes due to being located in a tectonically active region, over fault lines like the Chaman fault, Hari Rud, Darvaz and Central Badakshshan fault.