The quake struck about 44km (27 miles) from the city of Khost in southeastern Afghanistan at a depth of 51km, according to the US Geological Survey.
According to officials, an earthquake that slammed Afghanistan’s Paktika province on Wednesday morning resulted in at least 1,000 fatalities and 1,500 injuries, nearly quadruplicating the number of fatalities from earlier in the day.
According to survivors and rescuers who spoke to the BBC, villages close to the epicentre of the earthquake were entirely devastated, along with highways and cell phone towers. They also expressed their concern that the death toll will continue to grow.
