At the least 4 lifeless after magnitude-6.3 earthquake hits Afghanistan

[ad_1] At the least 4 folks have died, native authorities say, after an earthquake struck northern Afghanistan close to Mazar-e Sharif - one of many nation's largest cities - round 20:30 GMT (01:00 native time).

The earthquake had a magnitude of 6.3 and a depth of 28km (17 miles), in accordance with the US Geological Survey.

The company additionally warned of "important casualties" and "doubtlessly widespread" catastrophe.

Haji Zaid, a Taliban spokesman in Balkh province - of which Mazar-e Sharif is the capital - introduced the 4 deaths on X and mentioned "many individuals are injured" in Sholgara district.

A well being official in Samangan, a close-by mountainous province, informed Reuters that seven have died and 150 injured folks have been delivered to well being centres.

The BBC is unable to confirm these figures independently.

In an earlier put up, Haji Zaid wrote that they'd acquired "stories of minor accidents and superficial damages from all districts of the province".

"Many of the accidents have been brought on by folks falling from tall buildings," he wrote.

Mazar-e Sharif is dwelling to greater than 500,000 folks. Most of the metropolis's residents rushed to the streets when the quake struck, as they feared their homes would collapse, AFP reported.

The Taliban spokesman in Balkh additionally posted a video on X showing to point out particles strewn throughout the bottom on the Blue Mosque, an area landmark in Mazar-e-Sharif.

The non secular advanced is believed to accommodate the tomb of the primary Shia Imam - a spiritual chief believed to carry divine data. It is now a web site the place pilgrims collect to hope and have fun non secular occasions.

Khalid Zadran, a Taliban spokesman for the police in Kabul, wrote on X that police groups have been "carefully monitoring the state of affairs".

The quake on Monday comes after a 6.0 magnitude earthquake struck Afghanistan's mountainous japanese area in late August, killing greater than 1,000 folks.

That earthquake was particularly lethal as the agricultural homes within the area have been sometimes product of mud and timber. Residents have been trapped when their homes collapsed through the quake.

Afghanistan could be very vulnerable to earthquakes due to its location on prime of quite a few fault strains the place the Indian and Eurasian tectonic plates meet.