UPDATE - Death toll jumps to 1,124 as earthquake devastates eastern Afghanistan

UPDATES DEATH TOLL; CHANGES HEADLINE, DECK, LEDE

By Islamuddin Sajid

ISLAMABAD (AA) - The death toll from the devastating earthquake that struck eastern Afghanistan on Sunday night climbed to 1,124, the Afghan Red Crescent said on Tuesday.

At least 3,251 people have been injured, while the quake destroyed over 8,000 houses, the humanitarian group said through the US social media company X.

It is the third major earthquake to have hit a war-torn nation since the return of the Afghan Taliban to power in August 2021.

The US Geological Survey recorded the quake at 11.47 pm local time (1917GMT), located 27 kilometers (16.7 miles) east-northeast of Jalalabad at a depth of 8 km (5 mi) on Sunday night, when most of the residents were asleep.

Kunar is the hardest-hit province, where the devastating earthquake destroyed several villages.

The spokesman for the interim Afghan administration in Kunar province, Abdul Ghani, told Anadolu that rescue and relief teams had already arrived in the affected areas, and the operation has continued since Monday.

"The death toll may rise as many people are still under the rubble," he said.

He added that dozens of houses were destroyed in the Nur Gal, Sawki, Watpur, Manogi, and Chapa Dara districts of the province.

The Afghan interim administration dispatched relief goods and medical teams in the area on Monday, and Ghani said more aid was on the way from Kabul.

Several nations, including neighboring Pakistan, Iran, China, and India, as well as Western nations, have pledged to send aid to Afghanistan.

The death toll in Afghanistan's earthquake has risen to 1,124, the Afghan Red Crescent Society, a humanitarian group working in the region, said on Tuesday.