A 5.8 magnitude earthquake struck northern Afghanistan on Friday night, according to reports. At least eight members of a refugee family were killed by the earthquake on the outskirts of Kabul, sources indicate. The family had recently returned from Iran, as reported by local accounts.
Afghanistan's deputy government spokesman Hamdullah Fitrat confirmed on Saturday that the overall death toll from the earthquake had risen to 12, with four additional people injured. However, the Afghanistan Disaster Management Authority reported nine fatalities from the earthquake, creating a discrepancy in official counts. According to Fitrat, five homes were completely destroyed and 33 others significantly damaged by the earthquake, impacting 40 families across Kabul, Panjshir, Logar, Nangarhar, Laghman, and Nuristan provinces.
He was a very poor person.
The family had arrived 15 days ago and was living in a tent on land next to neighbor Mohibullah Niazi's home in the village of Ittefaq on the eastern outskirts of Kabul, neighbors said. The family head, Najibullah, was about 50 years old and had no other shelter, according to local sources. Heavy rains over the past several days had left the ground sodden and soft, as observed in the area.
When the earthquake struck, a wall collapsed on the family, witnesses reported. Neighbors rushed to help, digging through mud and rubble with spades and their hands, according to accounts from the scene. The local Taliban police checkpoint was alerted and sent rescuers and ambulances, officials stated.
My daughter shouted to me that a wall had fallen on them. The whole family ran, but there were so many big rocks.
The boy Aarash was pulled out alive but injured and rushed to hospital, rescuers said. Health Ministry spokesperson Sharafat Zaman said the boy was being treated for a severe head injury, according to his statement.
This tragedy raises questions about the vulnerability of returned refugees, with the death toll discrepancy between the deputy government spokesman and the Disaster Management Authority unresolved. It remains unknown how many other Afghan refugee families recently returned from Iran or Pakistan are similarly vulnerable to such disasters, highlighting broader implications for disaster preparedness and support for returnees in Afghanistan. The prognosis for the injured boy, Aarash, is also unclear, adding to the uncertainties surrounding this event.
We tried our best.
For about three minutes, I could hear the voices of these people.
But we couldn't do anything. There were two or three of us, but this was not the work of three people.