Afghanistan Earthquake Death Toll Climbs, Refugee Family Among Victims
A devastating 5.8 magnitude earthquake struck northern Afghanistan, resulting in a rising death toll that includes eight members of a refugee family recently returned from neighboring Iran. The seismic event occurred on Friday night, with its epicenter located in the Hindu Kush mountain range, approximately 150 kilometers east of Kunduz and 290 kilometers northeast of Kabul.
Tragedy in Ittefaq Village
Mohibullah Niazi, a neighbor who assisted in rescue efforts, described the harrowing scene on the outskirts of Kabul. The eight victims were a refugee family who had arrived just fifteen days earlier from Iran, where crackdowns on foreigners had forced their return. They were living in a tent on land adjacent to Niazi's home in Ittefaq village.
"For several minutes after the earthquake struck, I could hear their screams. Then there was silence," Niazi recounted. Heavy rains had softened the ground, and when the quake hit, a wall collapsed onto their tent. The family included the father Najibullah, approximately 50 years old, his wife, four daughters aged between 12 and 23, and two sons.
Rescue Efforts and Sole Survivor
Neighbors rushed to help, digging through mud and rubble with spades and their hands. They alerted local Taliban police, who dispatched rescuers and ambulances. The only survivor was a three-year-old boy named Aarash, who was pulled out alive but injured with a severe head injury. He was hospitalized in Kabul, where Health Ministry spokesperson Sharafat Zaman visited him on Saturday.
"We tried our best," Niazi said, standing amidst piles of bricks, mud, and salvaged belongings like blankets and cooking utensils. "There were two or three of us, but this was not the work of three people."
Discrepancies in Official Figures
Afghanistan's deputy government spokesman Hamdullah Fitrat increased the overall death toll to 12 on Saturday, with another four people injured. He reported that five homes were destroyed and 33 significantly damaged, affecting 40 families across Kabul, Panjshir, Logar, Nangarhar, Laghman, and Nuristan provinces. However, the Afghanistan Disaster Management Authority placed the death toll at nine, with the reason for the discrepancy not immediately clear.
Context of Seismic Vulnerability
Afghanistan lies in a highly seismically active region, and earthquakes have caused thousands of deaths in recent years. This latest disaster follows a string of deadly quakes, including a 6.0 magnitude event in August that killed over 2,200 people in eastern Afghanistan, primarily in Kunar province. In November, a 6.3 earthquake in Samangan province killed at least 27 and injured more than 950, damaging historical sites like the Blue Mosque. On October 7, 2023, a 6.3 quake in western Afghanistan killed thousands.
The tragedy underscores the precarious situation of Afghan refugees returning from Iran and Pakistan amid crackdowns, often living in vulnerable conditions. Niazi noted he had offered the family shelter in his guest room just half an hour before the quake, but they declined. "He was a very poor person," Niazi said of Najibullah, highlighting the family's lack of other shelter.
