Powerful Afghanistan earthquake leaves 20 dead and reportedly damages famous Blue Mosque | Afghanistan

A powerful 6.3 magnitude earthquake that struck northern Afghanistan overnight has killed more than 20 people and injured about 320, the health ministry said on Monday.

The preliminary tolls of deaths and injuries were recorded in the Balkh and Samangan provinces, which have suffered most of the damage, a ministry spokesperson, Sharafat Zaman, said in a video message shared with journalists.

The quake also damaged the Blue Mosque of Mazar-i-Sharif, a 15th-century landmark famed for its vibrant tiles, according to an AFP journalist who saw the damage.

The US Geological Survey said the quake’s epicentre was 22km (14 miles) west-southwest of Khulm, Afghanistan, and at a depth of 28km. It struck at 12.59am local time, the USGS said.

Yousaf Hammad, a spokesperson for Afghanistan’s disaster management agency, said most of the injured suffered minor wounds and were discharged after receiving initial treatment.

In Kabul, the ministry of defence announced that rescue and emergency aid teams had reached the affected areas in the Balkh and Samangan provinces and had begun rescue operations, including transporting the injured and assisting affected families.

In Mazar-i-Sharif, footage on social media showed the quake had caused some damage to the Blue Mosque, with AFP reporting that pieces of the ornate structure, particularly from one of its minarets, had broken off and fallen to the ground.

The centuries-old site is one of Afghanistan’s most revered religious landmarks and a major gathering place during Islamic and cultural festivals. It is one of the country’s few tourist sites.

The quake was felt in the capital, Kabul, and several other provinces in Afghanistan. The defence ministry said in a statement that rocks falling from the mountains briefly blocked a main highway linking Kabul to Mazar-i-Sharif, but the road was later reopened. It said some people who were injured and trapped along the highway were transported to the hospital.

Afghanistan has been rattled by a series of earthquakes in recent years and the impoverished country often faces difficulty in responding to such natural disasters, especially in remote regions.

Buildings in Afghanistan tend to be low-rise constructions, mostly of concrete and brick, with homes in rural and outlying areas made from mud bricks and wood. Many are poorly built.

A magnitude 6.0 earthquake on 31 August in eastern Afghanistan near the border with Pakistan killed more than 2,200 people. On 7 October 2023, a magnitude 6.3 quake followed by strong aftershocks left at least 4,000 people dead, according to the Taliban government.

With AP and Agence France-Presse