More than 600 people have been killed and 1,000 injured following a 6.0-magnitude earthquake that struck eastern Afghanistan, the Taliban said.
Taliban-led health authorities say the final casualty figure is still not confirmed.
The powerful quake hit a mountainous area about 27 kilometres east-north-east of Jalalabad, Afghanistan's fifth-largest city, at around 11:47pm local time on Sunday.
Jalalabad has a population of 300,000, with many of its buildings having poor construction.
Local officials said the provinces of Nangarhar and Kunar had been worst affected.
The quake was 8km deep, with shaking categorised as severe by the US Geological Survey (USGS), a governmental department which monitors earthquakes.
Early reports showed 30 dead in a single village, the Afghan health ministry said.
[map]Hundreds of injured were taken to hospital, said Najibullah Hanif, the provincial information head, with figures likely to rise as reports arrived from remote areas with few roads.
There was a second quake some 20 minutes later in the same area, with a magnitude of 4.5.
The rescue mission is challenging
Landslides have cut off roads in the mountainous Kunar province, forcing rescuers to rely on helicopters.
"The number of casualties and injuries is high, but since the area is difficult to access, our teams are still on site," health ministry spokesperson Sharafat Zaman said.
The Taliban's defence ministry has said 40 rescue flights have carried 420 dead and wounded from the area.
"All our ... teams have been mobilised to accelerate assistance, so that comprehensive and full support can be provided," ministry spokesperson Abdul Maten Qanee said.
The Taliban government are appealing for urgent international help.
"So far, no foreign governments have reached out to provide support for rescue or relief work," a foreign office spokesperson said.
Afghanistan is prone to earthquakes
Earthquakes are common in eastern Afghanistan, near the Hindu Kush mountain range where the Indian and Eurasian tectonic plates meet.
On August 19, a 5.17-magnitude quake hit the region, followed by a 5.6-magnitude quake on August 27.
Two earthquakes above magnitude 5 also struck the region in April this year.
The country's west has also been hit by a series of earthquakes, with more than 1,000 people killed in quakes there last year.
A magnitude-6.3 earthquake that hit the western Herat province in October 2023 was the deadliest natural disaster to strike Afghanistan in recent memory.
The Taliban government estimated that at least 4,000 people died while the UN gave a far lower death toll of about 1,500.
ABC/wires
