Strong Earthquake Jolts Afghanistan, 8 Killed

A powerful earthquake struck the Hindu Kush mountain range in central Afghanistan on Friday night (April 3), leaving at least eight people dead.

The German Research Centre for Geosciences (GFZ) reported that the quake measured 5.8 on the Richter scale, originating at a depth of 181 kilometers (112 miles).

According to Turkey’s Anadolu Agency, citing the Afghan state news agency Bakhtar News, at least eight people were killed in the Bagrami district of Kabul province.

One other person was reported to have sustained critical injuries. The Afghan Ministry of Information stated that search and rescue operations are ongoing for an individual reported missing following the tremors.

The impact of the earthquake was felt far beyond Afghanistan's borders:

Pakistan: Residents in the capital, Islamabad, and various parts of the country experienced strong tremors. The Pakistan Meteorological Department recorded a higher magnitude of 6.2 at a depth of 190 kilometers.

The quake, felt at 9:13 PM local time, also jolted the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province and the northern Gilgit-Baltistan region.

India: Tremors were felt across a wide area of North India, including Delhi, Punjab, and Jammu and Kashmir.

In Chandigarh, Ludhiana, and Srinagar, panicked residents fled their homes and took to the streets. In Uttarakhand, hundreds evacuated high-rise buildings in Dehradun.

While the earthquake was felt across a vast geographical area due to its significant depth, no major damage or casualties have been reported from the Indian side so far.

The Hindu Kush region sits on a geographically active fault line, frequently causing mid-to-high intensity earthquakes that impact much of South Asia.