Eight people from one Afghan family killed in devastating earthquake

A 5.8-magnitude earthquake struck Afghanistan on Friday at 8:42pm local time, resulting in the deaths of eight family members. The incident occurred in the Gosfand Dara area of Kabul province.

According to Health Ministry spokesman Sharafat Zaman, a child aged around two years old was the sole survivor of the disaster. The Afghanistan’s disaster management agency confirmed that the boy suffered injuries.

The US Geological Survey reported that the epicentre of the quake was located at a depth of 186km in the northeastern province of Badakhshan. The capital city of Kabul is approximately 290km southwest of the epicentre, but there were no immediate reports of damage or casualties in areas closer to the centre.

Witnesses from multiple parts of Afghanistan, including Kabul and New Delhi, reported feeling strong tremors. Pakistan also experienced the quake, with reports coming in from Islamabad, Peshawar, Chitral, Swat, and Shangla.

Afghanistan is prone to earthquakes due to its location along the Hindu Kush mountain range, where the Eurasian and Indian tectonic plates meet. According to official statistics, an average of 560 people are killed by quakes in Afghanistan each year.

The country has experienced significant seismic activity in recent years, including a devastating magnitude 6 earthquake in eastern Afghanistan last August that resulted in at least 2,200 fatalities. The majority of casualties were reported in Kunar province, where many residents live in homes constructed from wood and mud-brick materials along steep valleys.

Source: Al Jazeera