A powerful earthquake that struck eastern Afghanistan overnight killed at least 800 people and injured nearly 2,500 in Kunar province, Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said Monday.
Mujahid said 800 people were confirmed dead and 2,500 injured in Kunar alone. In neighboring Nangarhar province, he said 12 people were and 255 others were injured. At least 58 people were wounded in Laghman province and four in Nuristan, while authorities in Panjshir said four homes were damaged.
Mujahid warned the toll could climb further, with many people still trapped under rubble. “In every family there are 10 or more killed or wounded, and many remain buried,” one Kunar resident told local media.
The earthquake, with a preliminary magnitude of 6.0, struck just after midnight near Asadabad in Kunar province, at a depth of about 27 kilometers (17 miles) near Jalalabad, according to the Taliban’s disaster management agency.
Kunar bears the brunt
The agency said the hardest-hit districts were Sawkai and Nurgal in Kunar, where access remains difficult and survivors are being evacuated by helicopter. Videos shared on social media showed residents carrying the wounded in private cars, trucks and even on foot as ambulances struggled to cope with the influx of casualties.
Hospitals in Kunar were overwhelmed Monday, with hundreds of injured crowded into wards and waiting outside. “The hospitals are full. Before one ambulance leaves, another one arrives,” said a resident.
Scenes of loss
Among the victims are women and children. One grieving father in Kunar told Amu TV that he lost three daughters and a son when his house collapsed. “Only one child survived. Everyone else is gone,” he said.
Others described entire families buried beneath the rubble. Local residents said children who survived spent the night in the cold outdoors after their homes were destroyed.
Appeals for help
Nooruddin Turabi, head of the Taliban’s disaster management authority, said three helicopters had been deployed to evacuate the wounded from remote villages. He confirmed that Kunar suffered the greatest devastation. “Most of the damage was in Suki and Nurgal districts,” he said.
Survivors pleaded for urgent help to reopen blocked roads and deliver aid. “People are trapped in Wegal, and the roads are closed. The government must act quickly,” one resident said.
Funerals began Monday across eastern provinces, with mass burials reported in Kunar. Families gathered on hillsides to bury loved ones as aftershocks rattled the region.
Taliban said rescue efforts were ongoing, though mountainous terrain and poor infrastructure were hampering operations.
