At least 20 people have died after an earthquake struck northern Afghanistan, say local authorities, with the toll expected to rise as rescue efforts continue.
Hundreds have also been left injured, reports BBC.
The earthquake struck near Mazar-e-Sharif, one of the largest cities in Afghanistan, home to around 500,000 people, in the early hours of Monday, at around 01:00 local time (20:30 GMT).
It had a magnitude of 6.3 and a depth of 28km (17mi, according to the US Geological Survey, and was marked at an orange alert level, which indicates “significant casualties” are likely.
Sharafat Zaman Amar, spokesperson for the Taliban government health ministry, said that more than 20 people have been killed and more than 320 injured.
Provincial officials earlier told the BBC that casualty tolls were likely to rise as rescue efforts continued.
