The death toll from a powerful earthquake in Afghanistan has climbed to 1,000, with more than 1,500 others wounded, according to the Taliban’s the Culture and Information Department, as rescuers try to reach the site of the disaster in remote Paktika and Khost provinces.
The United States Geological Survey (USGS) said the magnitude of the earthquake in the early hours of Wednesday was 5.9, revising an initial estimate at 6.1. The epicentre of the tremor was about 46km (27 miles) from the city of Khost, near the Pakistani border, the USGS said.
