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Natural disaster – more than 250 killed in earthquake in Afghanistan

Natural disaster – more than 250 killed in earthquake in Afghanistan

According to official figures, at least 255 people were killed in a violent earthquake late Tuesday evening (local time) in the Afghanistan-Pakistan border region. On Wednesday, the official Bakhtar news agency reported that 155 others were injured in the eastern Afghan province of Paktika.

A spokesman for the ruling Taliban movement also spoke of dozens of destroyed houses in four affected areas of the province bordering Pakistan. Local media reported that one of the villages had been completely destroyed.

The US Seismological Survey (USGS) reported a magnitude of 5.9 just before 11 p.m. Tuesday (local time) and a slightly weaker aftershock. Accordingly, the epicenter of the earthquake was about 50 kilometers southwest of the city of Khost near the border with Pakistan at a depth of about ten kilometers. And the Pakistani authorities recorded the earthquake with a magnitude of 6.1.

According to Pakistani information, the earthquake was felt in large parts of the neighboring country – including the capital Islamabad and even in Lahore in the east of the country. Panic broke out in some places, but according to preliminary information, nothing was known about the damage or casualties in Pakistan. According to the Civil Protection Authority, local emergency services tried to reach the affected remote mountainous area. (apa, dpa)

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