The toll is getting heavier hour by hour. “HASat least 920 people were killed and 600 injured” n the earthquake that shook southeastern Afghanistan on the night of Tuesday June 21 to Wednesday June 22, Deputy Minister of Natural Disasters Sharafuddin Muslim said at a press conference. The earthquake affected the provinces of Paktika and Khost, on the border with Pakistan. Follow our live.
A magnitude 5.9 earthquake. The earthquake occurred at a depth of 10 km on Wednesday, according to the American Seismological Institute (USGS). Also according to this source, a second quake of magnitude 4.5 hit almost the same place at the same time.
Tremors felt as far as Kabul, 200 km from the epicenter. The earthquake was felt in several provinces of the region, and also in the capital Kabul, located about 200 km north of the epicenter of the earthquake. It was also in neighboring Pakistan, but no damage or casualties were immediately reported there.
Pope Francis expresses his solidarity with the victims. “I express my sympathy to the injured and those affected by the earthquake. And I pray in particular for those who lost their lives and their families”said the pontiff in Italian on Wednesday at the end of his weekly general audience in St. Peter’s Square.