The death toll from the deadly earthquake that struck in the early hours of Wednesday morning in Afghanistan is constantly rising.
The death toll from the magnitude 6.1 earthquake that struck Afghanistan early in the morning has risen to 1,000, according to a senior official in one of the worst-hit provinces, with hundreds more injured.
"The death toll has risen to 1,000 and the number is rising. "People are opening graves, one after the other," said Mohammad Amin Huzaifa, head of the Paktika province's Information and Culture Service, in a statement to the press.
Most of the deaths were in Paktika province, where 100 people were killed and 250 were injured, said Mohammad Nasim Hakani, head of the Taliban's disaster management service.
According to him, there are reports of deaths in the eastern provinces of Nangarhar and Host, while the authorities continue to assess the damage.
"Unfortunately, last night there was a strong earthquake in four areas of Paktika province, which killed and injured hundreds of our fellow citizens and destroyed dozens of houses," Bilal Karimi, a spokesman for the Taliban government, said on Twitter.
"We call on all relief services to send teams to the area immediately to prevent further disaster," he added.
Photos posted on social media show damaged houses on the streets of a village. Local sources in Paktika province said the quake caused a landslide.
Afghanistan is often hit by earthquakes, mainly in the Hindu Kush massif at the junction of two tectonic plates, the Eurasian and the Indian.
