Magnitude-6 quake kills about 622 in Afghanistan

Afghanistan’s state broadcaster said on Monday that about 622 people were killed and 1,500 others injured by an earthquake that struck the east of the country, amid fears the death toll could rise significantly.

The quake, which hit a mountainous area near the eastern border with Pakistan, measured about six on the Richter scale.

The German Research Centre for Geosciences said the earthquake occurred at a depth of 10 kilometres at around midnight, affecting the Jalalabad area in Nangarhar province as well as Kunar province.

A spokesperson for the Afghan Ministry of Information said the worst-affected areas were in Kunar province, where roads were closed due to landslides, and added that search-and-rescue operations were under way using helicopters.

Meanwhile, the spokesman for the Afghan interim government, Zabihullah Mujahid, said in a post on X that there were casualties from the quake. Mujahid wrote: “Unfortunately, today’s earthquake caused loss of life and damage to property in the eastern provinces.”