The quake struck about 27 miles (44 kilometers) from the city of Khost, near the country’s border with Pakistan, and was at a depth of 31.6 miles (51km), according to the US Geological Survey. At least 920 people were killed and 600 injured, an Afghan emergency official said. Image: Taliban fighters secure a government helicopter to evacuate wounded in Gayan area, Paktika province, Afghanistan. Photo: Afghan government news agency via AP “The death toll is likely to rise as some of the villages are located in remote areas in the mountains and it will take some time to gather details,” said Interior Ministry official Salahuddin Ayubi. Most of the victims were in Paktika province. Footage from the area, near the border with Pakistan, showed victims being transported by helicopter to be evacuated from the area. The Bakhtar news agency published images of damaged stone houses and the injured being treated at the hospital. Its general manager, Abdul Wahid Rayan, wrote on Twitter that 90 houses had been destroyed in Paktika province and dozens of people believed to be trapped under the rubble. “A strong earthquake shook four districts of Paktika province, killing and injuring hundreds of our compatriots and destroying dozens of homes,” Bilal Karimi, a deputy spokesman for the Taliban government, wrote on Twitter. “We urge all aid agencies to send teams to the area immediately to prevent further disaster.” Image: Photo: Afghan government news agency via AP It has been in the midst of an economic and humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan since the Taliban took control in August last year and the withdrawal of US-led international forces after two decades of war. Its already fragile economy, which is heavily dependent on aid, has been crippled by Western sanctions on its banking sector and billions in aid cuts. The tremors were felt in a range of about 310 miles (500 km) from about 119 million people in Pakistan, Afghanistan and India, the European Mediterranean Seismological Center (EMSC) tweeted. Image: Photo: Afghan government news agency They were extended to the Afghan capital, Kabul, as well as to Islamabad, Pakistan, according to witness accounts posted on the EMSC website and by Twitter users. “Strong and long jolt,” a witness from Kabul wrote on the EMSC website. “It was possible,” said another witness from Peshawar in northwestern Pakistan. There are no immediate reports of injuries or deaths in Pakistan.
