Kabul: At least 500 people have been killed and 1,000 others injured after a 6.0 magnitude earthquake struck Afghanistan, the country’s state-run broadcaster has said.
The earthquake struck the country’s rugged northeastern province of Kunar near the Pakistan border at 11.47pm local time (8.17pm UK time) on Sunday, the German Research Centre for Geosciences said.
Rescuers are working in several districts of the mountainous province where the quake hit.
Hundreds of injured people have been taken to hospital, a local official said, with figures likely to rise.
The quake’s epicentre was near Jalalabad, Nangarhar province, at a depth of 14km (8.7 miles). Jalalabad is about 119km (74 miles) away from the capital city, Kabul.
There was a second earthquake in the same province about 20 minutes later, with a magnitude of 4.5 and a depth of 10km (6.2 miles). This was later followed by a 5.2 earthquake at the same depth. (Agencies)
