At Least 250 dead as powerful earthquake rattles Afghanistan

A powerful 6.0-magnitude earthquake struck eastern Afghanistan near the Pakistan border late Sunday night, killing at least 250 people and injuring more than 500, Taliban officials confirmed Monday.

The quake struck around midnight local time (3:30 p.m. ET Sunday), approximately 17 miles southeast of the city of Jalalabad, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. The epicenter was located in a remote, mountainous region, complicating rescue and recovery efforts.

Sharafat Zaman, a spokesperson for Afghanistan’s Public Health Ministry, said that the death toll is likely to rise as emergency workers reach more affected areas.

“Because the earthquake hit a remote mountainous area, it will take time to get the exact information about human losses and damage to infrastructure,” Zaman said. “We have launched a massive rescue operation and mobilized hundreds of people to assist those in need.”

The earthquake struck at a shallow depth of just five miles, amplifying its destructive power despite its moderate magnitude. Images from the region show collapsed homes, damaged roads, and survivors being carried away for emergency medical care.

Afghanistan sits atop a major seismic fault line where the Indian and Eurasian tectonic plates collide, making the region highly prone to earthquakes. The rugged terrain of eastern Afghanistan is also susceptible to landslides, which pose additional challenges to rescue operations.

This latest disaster comes just three years after a deadly 5.9-magnitude earthquake struck the same region in 2022, killing around 1,000 people and injuring thousands more.

Emergency teams continue to search for survivors under the rubble, as the full extent of the damage remains unclear.