Islamabad, 1 September 2025 (dpa/MIA) – The death toll from a series of earthquakes in eastern Afghanistan has climbed to 812, with 2,817 people said to be injured, according to figures released by the Taliban government on Monday.

Government spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said the numbers are expected to rise as rescue teams continue work in remote and hard-to-reach areas.

"In some villages, people who are injured or have died are still trapped under the rubble," he said at a press conference in Kabul.

The eastern province of Kunar is the worst affected, followed by Nangarhar, Laghman, Nuristan and Panjshir.

According to the US Geological Survey, a magnitude 6.0 quake struck at 1917 GMT on Sunday, just before midnight local time, near the border with Pakistan.

The tremor occurred at a depth of 8 kilometres and was followed by several lower-intensity aftershocks, USGS said.

Officials said four villages in Kunar were completely destroyed and many others were partially damaged. Communications have been disrupted, complicating rescue efforts. Emergency response teams from the Defence Ministry have been deployed to evacuate the injured.

Meanwhile residents in Kunar complained to local media that they were still waiting for assistance, as the exact scale of the crisis in the country, which is reeling from decades of conflict, remains unclear.

"Children, women, and the elderly are trapped under the rubble. There is no one here to rescue them," one resident of Ghaziabad village told TOLOnews, describing the aftermath of the midnight quake that destroyed entire communities.

"Nearly 95% of the houses in our village have been destroyed," another eyewitness reported. "We have many dead and injured."

Desperate for help, residents pleaded: "We need vehicles, doctors, everything, to evacuate the injured and recover the bodies."

UN Secretary General António Guterres extended his condolences on X.

"I stand in full solidarity with the people of Afghanistan after the devastating earthquake that hit the country earlier today," he wrote.

Neighbouring Iran has pledged to support relief efforts, with Foreign Office spokesman Ismail Baghai saying Tehran is prepared to assist immediately with rescue measures in the affected areas.

In October 2024, a similar earthquake in western Herat province killed around 1,500 people and injured nearly 2,000, according to the United Nations.

Afghanistan has been isolated internationally since the Taliban seized power in August 2021, which might complicate relief assistance. So far, only Russia has officially recognized the Islamist regime.

Photo: EPA