Hundreds of people are feared dead after a 6.0-magnitude earthquake struck eastern Afghanistan on Sunday evening, officials confirmed.
Authorities have warned that the death toll could rise sharply as rescue efforts continue, with the remoteness of the affected areas making it difficult to assess the full scale of destruction.
According to Taliban government sources, dozens of homes remain buried under rubble and entire villages have been destroyed. Officials have appealed to international humanitarian organizations for urgent assistance, as some areas are only accessible by air due to landslides and flooding.
The earthquake struck at a shallow depth of just 8 km (6 miles), shaking buildings as far away as Kabul and Islamabad, Pakistan, more than 300 km from the epicenter.
Rescue teams are racing against time to search for survivors, while hospitals in nearby provinces are overwhelmed with the injured.
