A powerful earthquake has destroyed villages in eastern Afghanistan, killing 800 people and injuring around 2,500.

Kabul, September 1 – More than 800 people have died and at least 2,500 others were injured after a powerful earthquake struck eastern Afghanistan late Sunday, according to Taliban government officials. Most of the casualties were reported in Kunar province.

The 6.0-magnitude quake hit at 11:47 p.m., centered about 27 kilometers east-northeast of Jalalabad in Nangarhar province, the U.S. Geological Survey said. The quake was shallow, just 8 kilometers deep, which made the damage worse. Several aftershocks followed.

Videos from the area showed rescuers pulling survivors from collapsed homes, carrying the injured on stretchers, and using helicopters to evacuate victims, while residents dug through rubble with their bare hands.

Interior Ministry spokesman Abdul Matin Qani said 610 people were killed and 1,300 injured in Kunar, while Nangarhar reported at least 12 deaths and hundreds of injuries. Thousands of homes, many made of mud bricks and poorly built, were destroyed.

A resident from Nurgal district, one of the hardest-hit areas, said almost the entire village was gone. “Children are under the rubble. The elderly are under the rubble. Young people are under the rubble. We need urgent help to recover the dead and injured,” he pleaded.

One survivor, Sadiqullah from Maza Dara, described how he was trapped under debris for hours after rushing to save his children. His wife and two sons were killed, and his father was badly injured. “It felt like the whole mountain was shaking,” he said from a hospital in Nangarhar.

Rescue teams from Kunar, Nangarhar, and Kabul have been sent to the region, though officials warned that casualty numbers are likely to rise as reports continue to come in from remote areas. Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said all available resources are being used to save lives.

Jalalabad, a nearby city of around 300,000 people and a major trade hub near the Pakistan border, also felt the tremors.

Afghanistan has suffered devastating quakes in recent years. In October 2023, a 6.3-magnitude earthquake killed thousands, making it the country’s deadliest natural disaster in recent memory.