A 6.0 magnitude earthquake struck eastern Afghanistan late on Aug. 31, leaving at least 622 people dead and more than 1,500 others injured, according to the interior ministry.

The vast majority of deaths occurred in the mountainous Kunar province, the ministry said in a statement cited by The Guardian.

The quake struck at a shallow depth of 8km, which BBC points out is more destructive, as shallower quakes typically cause more damage.

Tremors could be felt even in neighbouring Pakistan, according to Al Jazeera.

An Afghan government spokesperson wrote on X that the earthquake"has caused loss of life and property damage in some of our eastern provinces", adding that rescue efforts were underway.

However, the remote, mountainous terrain of Kunar makes the region difficult to access, hampering rescue operations, a BBC correspondent in Afghanistan reported.

"The road leading to the epicentre has been blocked because of a landslide, so the Taliban government is using helicopters to get people out", the correspondent said she had been told.

The Afghanistan offices of the United Nations (UN) and the World Health Organization have separately shared that their teams are on the ground providing emergency assistance and delivering essential supplies.

Afghanistan is prone to powerful earthquakes as many of its cities sit on or near geological faults.

In October 2023, a magnitude 6.3 earthquake struck Afghanistan and produced strong aftershocks.

The death toll was estimated to be over 4,000 by the Taliban-run government, and about 1,500 by the UN.