Kabul, Nov 3 (UNI) A powerful 6.3-magnitude earthquake hit northern Afghanistan early Monday, killing at least seven people and injuring around 150 others, provincial authorities said.
The quake occurred at a depth of 28 kilometers (17 miles) and was centered about 22 kilometers (14 miles) west-southwest of Khulm, near the city of Mazar-e Sharif at around 12:59 a.m. local time, the US Geological Survey (USGS) reported.
As many as 150 people were injured in Mazar-e Sharif, which has a population of roughly 523,000.
“As of this morning, a total of seven people have been killed and 150 injured, all of whom have been transferred to health centers,” said Samim Joyanda, spokesperson for the health department in Samangan province, a mountainous region near Mazar-e Sharif.
The latest quake comes two months after a 6.0-magnitude earthquake struck eastern Afghanistan near the Pakistan border on August 31, claiming more than 2,200 lives.
A series of quakes in October 2023 also left at least 4,000 people dead, according to the Taliban government. Afghanistan is prone to frequent and deadly earthquakes, particularly in the Hindu Kush mountain range, where tectonic plates of the Indian and Eurasian regions meet.
