OVER 900 KILLED, 600 INJURED AS EARTHQUAKE JOLTS AFGHANISTAN

Wed 22 June 2022:

A deadly earthquake has killed over 920 people and injured 610 in eastern Afghanistan, officials said on Wednesday.

Maulvi Sharafuddin Muslim, deputy minister of state for disaster management, said so far 920 people have been killed and over 610 wounded in the earthquake, state-run Bakhtar News Agency quoted him as saying during a press conference in Kabul.

Over 900 killed, 600 injured as earthquake jolts #Afghanistan pic.twitter.com/a2VA1YiPwi

— INDEPENDENT PRESS (@IpIndependent) June 22, 2022

“At least 218 people have been killed and more than 300 injured in an earthquake in #Paktika’s Giani district alone. So far, the number of martyrs in #Paktika has reached 381,” Abdul Wahid Rayan, a Taliban official and director-general of state-run Bakhtar News Agency, tweeted earlier.

The tremors shook the eastern border provinces of Khost and Paktika last night, causing huge destructions in the areas.

Afghan officials said the death toll could rise as dozens of people are in critical condition.

An earthquake of magnitude 6.1 in #Afghanistan has killed at least killed 280 people and injured more than 600 in the country’s east. pic.twitter.com/zhyZiQ3nJF

— INDEPENDENT PRESS (@IpIndependent) June 22, 2022

“I have tragic reports from my native Paktika province, where hundreds of people are killed and wounded in the devastating earthquakes. The homes are destroyed, and people are under the rubbles,” Khalid Zadran, a police spokesman in the capital Kabul, said in a tweet.

“Aid teams from Kabul have reached the area and rescue work is underway. All aid organizations should direct their aid to Paktika,” he added.

Taliban officials have also requested immediate assistance in the quake-hit areas.

Videos and photos circulating on social media show houses razed to the ground in the last night’s devastating earthquake.

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