Afghanistan earthquake: Toll crosses 2200, nearly 4000 injured; rescue under way

More than 2,200 people have been confirmed dead in the 6.0-magnitude earthquake that struck eastern Afghanistan over the weekend, Taliban authorities said on Thursday.Deputy government spokesman Hamdullah Fitrat posted on X that at least 2,217 people were killed and nearly 4,000 injured, with the vast majority of casualties in the mountainous Kunar province near the Pakistan border. He added that “rescue efforts are still ongoing”.Afghanistan was shaken again on Thursday as a 4.8-magnitude earthquake struck the country, the National Center for Seismology (NCS) reported.The tremor occurred at a depth of 135 km. In a post on X, the NCS said: “EQ of M: 4.8, On: 04/09/2025 10:40:56 IST, Lat: 34.38 N, Long: 70.37 E, Depth: 135 Km, Location: Afghanistan.”Powerful tremors destroyed villages and left people trapped under collapsed houses made mostly of mud bricks and wood. The difficult terrain slowed rescue efforts, with Taliban authorities air-dropping commandos to evacuate the injured from areas where helicopters cannot land.Another earthquake measuring 5.2 on the Richter scale struck eastern Afghanistan on Tuesday, near the epicentre of Sunday’s powerful tremor, the US Geological Survey (USGS) said.