The death toll from the powerful earthquake that struck eastern Afghanistan has risen to 1,411, Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said Tuesday.
Mujahid said 3,124 people were injured and 5,412 homes destroyed in the quake, which struck Kunar province shortly after midnight Sunday with a magnitude of 6.1.
The Afghan Red Crescent Society earlier reported at least 1,124 dead and 3,251 wounded, saying more than 8,000 homes were destroyed. The humanitarian group said many people remained trapped under rubble and that rescue operations were still underway.
While Kunar has reported the highest number of casualties, smaller numbers of deaths and injuries were also recorded in Nangarhar, Laghman and Nuristan provinces. Officials said Panjshir province sustained financial losses but no deaths.
Hospitals in Kunar remain overwhelmed, with witnesses reporting mass burials and children left homeless spending the night in the open. Taliban officials said helicopters were being used to evacuate the wounded from remote districts.
The quake’s epicenter was near Asadabad, the capital of Kunar province, at a depth of about 27 kilometers (17 miles). Tremors were also felt in Kabul and across the border in Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.
