KABUL: The death toll from the Afghanistan earthquake has reached 950 while over 600 were after a 6.1 magnitude earthquake jolted the country on Wednesday, Reuters reported Wednesday, quoting an Afghan disaster management official.

The news agency stated that the death toll was likely to rise.

Most of the confirmed deaths were in the eastern Afghan province of Paktika, where 255 people had been killed and more than 200 injured, said interior ministry official Salahuddin Ayubi.

In Khost province, 25 people had been killed and 90 taken to hospital, he said.

“The death toll is likely to rise as some of the villages are in remote areas in the mountains and it will take some time to collect details,” he said.

Authorities had launched a rescue operation and helicopters were being used to reach the injured and take in medical supplies and food, he added.

Photographs posted on social media showed several heavily damaged mud houses in remote rural areas.

Afghanistan is frequently hit by earthquakes, especially in the Hindu Kush mountain range, which lies near the junction of the Eurasian and Indian tectonic plates.

Pakistan condoles loss of life in Afghanistan

Meanwhile, Pakistan on Wednesday extended its deepest condolences and sympathies over the loss of precious lives and damage to property caused by the tragic earthquake in Paktika province of Afghanistan and its adjoining areas, and torrential floods in various provinces across the country.

The Foreign Office (FO), in a statement, said the people of Pakistan stand in strong solidarity with their Afghan brethren in this difficult time.

“We have no doubt that the brotherly Afghan people will overcome the effects of this natural calamity with their characteristic resilience.”

The FO stated that Pakistani authorities and institutions are working to extend the required assistance to Afghanistan.