At least 1,000 people have been killed and hundreds more injured after a powerful earthquake hit southeastern Afghanistan overnight, setting off a new humanitarian crisis in a country already facing a crumbling economy and hunger.
The eastern Paktika province was the worst hit, Sharafuddin Muslim, the deputy state minister for Disaster Management said. The state-run Bakhtar News agency said at least a 1,000 people had died and another 1,500 injured and the death toll could rise. Helicopters and rescue teams have been sent to the affected areas, he added.
Casualties and damage were also reported in nearby Khost and Nangahar provinces that border Pakistan, Taliban spokesman Bilal Karimi said. The quake was the worst calamity to hit the nation since a landslide in 2014 killed 2,000 people in the northeastern Badakhshan province.
