Afghan earthquake survivors search through the remains of a damaged house at a village in Tashqurghan, in the Khulm district of Samangan province on November 3, 2025. (Photo by Atif Aryan / AFP)
Khulm, Afghanistan: An earthquake in northern Afghanistan has killed at least 27 people and injured nearly 1,000, the health ministry said Tuesday, announcing the end of rescue operations.
Most of the casualties from the 6.3-magnitude quake that struck Monday overnight were reported in the provinces of Balkh and Samangan, ministry spokesman Sharafat Zaman said in a statement.
The vast majority of those injured were not in critical condition, the Afghan National Disaster Management Authority said.
Afghan medical personnel treat a wounded man at a hospital in the aftermath of an earthquake on November 3, 2025. (Photo by AFP)
"Thanks to the significant efforts and rapid response of all relevant institutions, the authorities have completed rescue operations in the affected areas," Zaman said.
The epicentre of quake was located in Samangan's Kholm district, near the city of Mazar-i-Sharif.
In Kholm, an AFP correspondent saw residents clearing rubble from their homes despite heavy rain.
The state electricity provider said it was still working to repair damaged power lines.
The quake follows a deadly tremor in late August that struck eastern provinces bordering Pakistan, killing more than 2,200 people and injuring nearly 4,000, according to the Taliban authorities.
That earthquake -- the deadliest in Afghanistan's recent history -- was a shallow one, and hit remote mountainous areas where poorly built homes collapsed.
