Earthquake claims eight lives, injuring hundreds in Afghanistan
(MENAFN) A magnitude-6.3 earthquake struck northern Afghanistan early Monday, killing at least eight people and injuring around 180, officials said, with casualties expected to rise as rescue operations continue.
The tremor hit Mazar-e-Sharif, home to roughly 500,000 residents, at around 01:00 local time (20:30 GMT). The US Geological Survey reported the earthquake’s depth at 28 km (17 miles) and issued an orange alert, indicating significant casualties were likely.
Taliban officials reported that many injuries resulted from people falling from tall buildings, particularly in Sholgara district south of Mazar-e-Sharif. Debris was also seen at the Blue Mosque, a key religious landmark in the city.
Additional fatalities were reported in Samangan province, a mountainous area near Mazar-e-Sharif. Police and emergency teams are actively monitoring the situation.
This quake follows a deadly magnitude-6.0 earthquake in eastern Afghanistan in late August, which killed over 1,000 people, largely due to the collapse of rural mud-and-timber houses.
Afghanistan is highly earthquake-prone, located at the convergence of the Indian and Eurasian tectonic plates.
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