Afghanistan quake kills over 800 as locals of hard-hit village call for global support

China

Afghanistan quake kills over 800 as locals of hard-hit village call for global support

2025-09-02 02:49 Last Updated At：14:17

At least 812 people have been confirmed dead and 2,817 others injured in a 6.1-magnitude earthquake that struck eastern Afghanistan on Sunday, a spokesman for the interim Afghan government said on Monday.

The earthquake struck the eastern part of Afghanistan at 23:47 local time on Sunday, with its epicenter 27km away from Jalalabad in Nangarhar province at a depth of 8 km, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.

The majority of the devastation occurred in the Nurgal, Suki, Watapur, and Chapa Dara districts of Kunar province.

A local of Kunar's Nurgal region told China Global Television Network (CGTN) that the tremor felt strong when it hit his village.

"There was a strong earthquake that hit our village at midnight on Sunday. We evacuated around 200 injured people to Jalalabad's hospital by helicopter, and about 300 to 350 people are still under the rubble. All of our houses have been completely destroyed. The villages of Ariz, Somash, and Suhil Valley, Pamand Valley, Wadir Ghaziabad Village, Masaud Valley, and Mazardara of Nurgal District were hit by last night's earthquake and were all damaged and destroyed," said Wadir Ghaziabad Village resident Zadran.

Authorities say the rugged terrain has posed significant challenges for relief teams, but response units from relief agencies have been deployed to the affected areas to speed up rescue operations and aid delivery to those trapped or in need.

Zadran and others called for global support to people in the affected regions.

"We are thankful and grateful to our government's officials for visiting the area and providing urgent support in a timely manner, but we are asking the international community for further aid," Zadran said.

"A total of 25 people from my family were martyred and they are still under the rubble. I ask the international community to provide us with aid and Allah will grant them rewards," said Mohammad Ibrahim, another resident of Wadir Ghaziabad Village.

Canadian PM's visit to China paves way for more pragmatic trade ties: scholar

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney's official visit to China signals a policy shift towards building a more pragmatic relationship between the two countries, according to a Canadian researcher.

Carney arrived in Beijing on Wednesday to begin an official visit to China through Saturday, which marks the first trip by a Canadian Prime Minister to the country in eight years.

Robert Hanlon, director and principal investigator of Canada and the Asia Pacific Policy Project (CAPPP) at Thompson Rivers University in British Columbia, told the China Global Television Network (CGTN) that Carney's visit indicates Canada is recalibrating its strategic perception of China, which could cement the foundation for the country's economic diversification efforts and boost the development of bilateral cooperation.

"I think it's a clear message that he has moved Canada's strategy to a much more pragmatic, interest-based, -focused relationship with our trading partners, moving away from values-based narratives that we might have heard on previous governments. Canada has spoken about moving from what the Prime Minister's Office is calling "from reliance to resilience", and that means diversifying our economies and our trade everywhere in the world. And so China being our second largest trading partner, it makes perfect sense for our PM to head to Beijing," he said.

The scholar also noted the huge cooperation potential between the two sides in economic and trade fields, citing Canada's efforts to step up shipments of liquefied natural gas (LNG) and the planned construction of an oil pipeline in Alberta which aims to increase export access to Asian markets. "Canada and China both share tremendous economic opportunities together and so finding ways to enhance our exports. Canada specifically looking to build out its LNG and oil, kind of export market. We know Canada is a major producer of critical minerals and China is a buyer. And so there's a lot of synergy between that kind of those kind of markets," he said.