The Afghan-Pakistani border region has been shaken by a violent earthquake. According to official figures, at least 280 people lost their lives. Another 250 residents in eastern Afghanistan were injured after the earthquake late Tuesday evening, the state news agency Bakhtar reported on Wednesday.
A spokesman for the ruling Taliban also spoke of dozens of destroyed houses in four affected districts of the province bordering Pakistan. Local media reported that one village was completely destroyed.
The information from regional seismic stations on the strength initially fluctuated. Pakistani authorities gave the earthquake late Tuesday evening (local time) with a magnitude of 6.1. The US earthquake monitor (USGS) reported magnitude 5.9 and a slightly weaker aftershock. Accordingly, the center of the earthquake was around 50 kilometers southwest of the city of Khost near the border with Pakistan at a depth of around ten kilometers.
