Quake measuring 5.8 hits Afghanistan, Pakistan; 8 dead in Kabul

A 5.8-magnitude earthquake struck parts of northern and eastern Afghanistan and western Pakistan yesterday (3 April), leaving at least eight people dead in Afghanistan, officials said.

The tremor, centred in the Hindu Kush about 150 kilometres east of the city of Kunduz, was confirmed by international seismic monitoring agencies.

According to Hafizullah Basharat, a spokesman for the Kabul governor, the fatalities occurred when a house collapsed on the outskirts of Kabul, killing eight members of the same family and injuring a child.

Kabul lies around 290 kilometres from the epicentre. No immediate reports of casualties or damage were received from areas closer to the quake's origin, which is located in a remote region where communication delays are common.

The earthquake struck at a depth of more than 180 kilometres, allowing it to be felt across a wide area of both countries. In Pakistan, tremors were reported in cities including Islamabad, Peshawar, Chitral, Swat and Shangla, though no casualties or damage were immediately reported.

Afghanistan's health ministry said medical teams in Kabul and other provinces had been placed on alert following the quake.

The region is known for frequent seismic activity, with devastating earthquakes recorded in recent years. In August last year, a powerful quake killed more than 2,200 people in eastern Afghanistan, while another in November left dozens dead and hundreds injured in the north.

Afghanistan's vulnerability to such disasters is compounded by widespread poverty and fragile infrastructure, particularly in rural areas where homes are often built from mud and wood and lack resilience against strong tremors.