Strong earthquake kills 4, injures 80 in Afghanistan

A child stands on the rubble of damaged houses after an earthquake in Laghman province, Afghanistan, March 22, 2023. (Photo by Aimal Zahir/Xinhua)

KABUL, March 22 (Xinhua) -- At least four people were confirmed dead and 80 more injured as a 6.5-magnitude earthquake rocked parts of Afghanistan on Tuesday night, spokesman of the Public Health Ministry Sharafat Zaman Amar said Wednesday.

"Latest reports that we have collected indicate four dead and 80 others injured," Amar told Xinhua.

Without providing more details, the official added that the number of casualties could go up as collecting information from provinces continued.

Abidullah Alkozai, head of Natural Disaster Management Authority in the eastern Laghman province, confirmed that two people including a child were killed and 20 others injured in the province on Tuesday night.

A total of 167 houses had been damaged or destroyed due to the quake in Laghman province, he said.

Qari Maazudin Ahmadi, the provincial director of Information and Culture in the northern Badakhshan province, confirmed that the quake injured one person and partially damaged or destroyed more than 50 houses in Badakhshan province.

The quake, according to officials, has claimed two lives in the northern Takhar province and injured 10 others in the eastern Paktika province.

Shafiullah Rahimi, the spokesman for Ministry of Natural Disaster Management and Humanitarian Affairs, told Xinhua that "the quake inflicted casualties" as the process of collecting information from across the country continued.

The strong earthquake with an epicenter in the northern Badakhshan province jolted parts of Afghanistan, including the capital city Kabul, and northwest Pakistan at 9:17 p.m. local time on Tuesday.

People check a damaged house after an earthquake in Laghman province, Afghanistan, March 22, 2023. (Photo by Aimal Zahir/Xinhua)

A child stands on the rubble of damaged houses after an earthquake in Laghman province, Afghanistan, March 22, 2023. (Photo by Aimal Zahir/Xinhua)