Magnitude 5.8 Quake Claims Eight Lives in Afghanistan

(MENAFN) A powerful 5.8-magnitude earthquake tore through the Hindu Kush region of central Afghanistan on Friday, claiming at least eight lives and sending tremors rippling across neighboring Pakistan and beyond.

All eight fatalities were recorded in the Bagrami district of central Kabul province, a news agency reported, with one additional person sustaining injuries. Earlier reports from Afghanistan’s Information Ministry had also noted one individual unaccounted for.

The German Research Centre for Geosciences placed the quake’s point of origin at a depth of 181 kilometers (112 miles), with the seismic event occurring at 1612 GMT. Authorities initially registered the tremor at a magnitude of 5.9 before revising the measurement downward to 5.8.

Ground shaking was confirmed in the Afghan capital Kabul by local resident Obaidullah Baheer, who reported the experience on X, the social media platform owned by US company under that name.

The quake’s reach extended well beyond Afghanistan’s borders, rattling Pakistan’s capital Islamabad, the northwestern province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and the northern territory of Gilgit-Baltistan. Tremors were additionally felt across Indian-administered Kashmir.

Pakistan’s Meteorological Department had initially put the quake’s magnitude at 6.1 before international agencies settled on the lower reading.

The Hindu Kush region sits atop one of the world’s most seismically active zones, where the convergence of tectonic plates frequently generates destructive earthquakes across Central and South Asia.

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