More than 600 people were killed and more than 1,500 injured in an earthquake that struck eastern Afghanistan, authorities said on Monday, as helicopters ferried the wounded to safety from rubble being combed in the hunt for survivors.The disaster will further stretch the resources of the South Asian nation already grappling with humanitarian crises, from a sharp drop in aid to a huge pushback of its citizens from neighbouring countries.

The quake of magnitude 6 injured more than 1,500, the Taliban-run Afghan interior ministry said in a statement that put the death toll at 622. Earlier state-run broadcaster Radio Television Afghanistan (RTA) put the toll at about 500.In Kabul, the capital, health authorities said rescuers were racing to reach remote hamlets dotting an area with a long history of earthquakes and floods.  "Figures from just a few clinics show over 400 injured and dozens of fatalities," ministry spokesperson Sharafat Zaman said in a statement that warned of higher casualties.

Taliban-led health authorities in Kabul, however, said they were still confirming the official toll figure as they worked to reach remote areas. The US Geological Survey (USGS) recorded the earthquake at a magnitude of 6.2, with its epicenter located near Jalalabad in Nangarhar province as it took place at a depth of eight kilometers. Around 20 minutes later, a strong aftershock measuring 4.5 on the Richter scale was also felt in the same region, with a depth of 10 kilometers. 

Local officials warn that the casualty figures are likely to rise, as communication with remote areas remains limited and rescue efforts are still underway. "The number of casualties and injuries is high, but since the area is difficult to access, our teams are still on site," health ministry spokesperson Sharafat Zaman said in a statement. Hundreds of injured were taken to hospital, said Najibullah Hanif, the provincial information head, with figures likely to rise as reports arrived from remote areas with few roads. 

Rescuers were working in several districts of the mountainous province where the midnight quake hit at a depth of 10 km (6 miles), to level homes of mud and stone on the border with Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa region, officials said. In Nurgal district, several villages have reportedly been buried under debris, raising fears that hundreds more may be trapped beneath the rubble. 

"In Dara-i-Nur district, the death toll has reached nine, and the number of injured has reached 20," a Nangarhar government statement said. The head of the Nangarhar provincial hospital, Fahimullah Dilawar, later said another person had died, bringing the confirmed toll to ten. Two children were killed when the roof of their home caved in during the shaking, according to initial reports from provincial authorities. 

Credit: Independent News Pakistan (INP)