The death toll from Sunday’s earthquake in eastern Afghanistan has climbed to 800, according to updated figures released by the Taliban government on Monday. Authorities also confirmed that more than 2,500 people were injured, while entire villages have been reduced to rubble.
The powerful 6.0 magnitude quake struck late Sunday night, shaking towns across Kunar province and the nearby city of Jalalabad in Nangarhar province, where widespread destruction was reported.
According to the U.S Geological Survey, the tremor hit at 23:47 local time, with its epicenter located 27 kilometers east-northeast of Jalalabad in Nangarhar province, at a shallow depth of just 8 kilometers. Quakes this shallow often cause greater devastation, and several aftershocks rattled the area afterward.
Videos from the scene showed rescuers carrying the wounded on stretchers from collapsed buildings and loading them into helicopters, while desperate residents dug through debris with their bare hands in search of survivors.
