800 dead, 2500 injured after strong quake strikes Afghanistan

Hundreds of people have been killed in eastern Afghanistan after a magnitude-6.0 earthquake struck late Sunday night near the Pakistan border.

At least 800 people have died and 2,500 others were injured by the tremor, the Taliban government said Monday.

Interior Ministry spokesman Abdul Mateen Qani confirmed that the vast majority of the deaths reported so far were in Kunar province.

In the neighboring province of Nangarhar, at least 12 people were killed and 255 others were injured, Qani said. 

Taliban spokesman says rescue efforts ongoing

"Local officials and residents are currently engaged in rescue efforts," Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid posted to X, adding there were deaths and structural and financial damage in some of the eastern provinces.

He said support teams from Kabul and nearby provinces were on their way to sites damaged in the powerful quake.

In October 2023, more than 2,000 people were killed after a 6.3 magnitude earthquake rocked the country. 

The 2023 earthquake is considered the deadliest natural disaster to hit the country in recent memory.

Afghanistan aid budget cuts impact earthquake response — Danish Refugee Council

Sweeping cuts to international aid budgets and the forced return of refugees from Pakistan are hampering rescue efforts following a series of deadly earthquakes in remote areas of eastern Afghanistan which are already hard to access, according to the Danish Refugee Council (DRC) in Kabul.

"The most impacted areas are in Kunar and Nangarhar," DRC spokeswoman Dania Al-Sharif told DW as the death toll from the 6.1 magnitude earthquake and subsequent aftershocks passed 800, with another 2,500 people injured.

"As a humanitarian organization, our work is to provide humanitarian assistance to the most impacted areas and families," she said. 

But she stressed that the organization has "been impacted by budget cuts," pointing to recent US cuts to intnernational aid as well as an "overall" reduction in funding.

"Our capacity to respond has been weakened since the beginning of this year," she said.

She said that many people were still trapped as local authorities continued difficult rescue efforts.

"Many families remain under rubble," said Al-Sharif.

"Many of these locations are really hard to access at the moment," she said, adding that "authorities ... are trying to clear the roads" to improve access.