Hundreds of people are feared dead after a magnitude 6.0 earthquake struck eastern Afghanistan on Sunday night
Still no clear death toll – health ministrypublished at 08:57
We’ve just heard from the public health ministry, which has said they don’t have clear casualty figures as the affected area has limited mobile phone signal coverage.
According to preliminary information, 330 people have been injured in the provinces of Laghman and Nangarhar. Eighty were injured in Laghman and 250 in Nangarhar, the ministry said.
The figures for Kunar province are even higher and the area has been severely affected, the ministry said.
The BBC learned earlier that 20 people died and 35 were wounded in a village in Kunar province.
08:39
More updates now from the Taliban government, who say that they have deployed helicopters to transport the injured to Nangarhar Airport.
From the airport, the injured are then moved to regional hospitals by ambulance for treatment.
The government says all civilian and military officials are being involved in disaster response.
08:21
We’ve just heard from the health ministry, which released a statement on what they know about the casualties.
“Unconfirmed reports indicate that nearly 30 people from one village have been killed, but so far there are no exact figures regarding the casualties,” health ministry spokesperson Sharafat Zaman said in the statement.
Three villages were “completely destroyed and suffered heavy damage”, he added.
“Some of the injured have been evacuated, and victims trapped under collapsed houses have been recovered,” he said, adding that search and rescue efforts are still underway in the area.
“The numbers of the injured and the dead are likely higher, but since the area has limited access and communication, our teams are still on the ground. Once accurate figures are collected, God willing, we will share them with you,” he said.
