More than 1,000 people killed after magnitude 5.9 earthquake hits eastern Afghanistan

The humanitarian disaster comes at a difficult time for the Taliban-ruled country, currently in the throes of hunger and economic crises. The shocks hit at 1:24 a.m. local time on Wednesday (4:54 p.m. ET on Tuesday) around 46 kilometers (28.5 miles) southwest of the city of Khost, which lies close to the country’s border with Pakistan, according to the United States Geological Survey (USGS).The quake registered at a depth of 10 kilometers (6.2 miles), according to USGS, which designated it at yellow alert level — indicating a relatively localized impact.Most of the deaths were in Paktika province, in the districts of Giyan, Nika, Barmal and Zirok, according to the State Ministry for Disaster Management. The death toll stands at more than 1,000 and at least 1,500 people have been injured “in Gayan and Barmal districts of Paktika province alone,” Mohammad Amin Hozaifa, head of Paktika province’s information and culture department, told CNN in a phone call Wednesday.The official expects the number of casualties to rise as search and effort missions continue.Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif extended his condolences and an offer of support in a tweet on Wednesday. “Deeply grieved to learn about the earthquake in Afghanistan, resulting in the loss of innocent lives,” he wrote. “People in Pakistan share the grief and sorrow of their Afghan brethren. Relevant authorities are working to support Afghanistan in this time of need.”India expressed “sympathy and condolences to the victims and their families,” according to a tweet by the spokesperson of the Indian Ministry of External Affairs on Wednesday.Pope Francis said he was praying “for those who have lost their lives and for their families,” during his weekly audience on Wednesday. “I hope aid can be sent there to help all the suffering of the dear people of Afghanistan.”Afghanistan has a long history of earthquakes, many of which happen in the mountainous Hindu Kush region that borders with Pakistan. In 2015, a quake that shook parts of South Asia killed more than 300 people in Afghanistan, Pakistan and India. More than 1,000 people died in 2002 after two earthquakes in the Nahrin region of northwestern Afghanistan. A powerful earthquake struck the same region in the 1998, killing about 4,700 people, according to records from National Centers for Environmental Information.CNN’s Hada Messia, Adam Pourahmadi, Aliza Kassi and Martin Goillandeau contributed to this report.