A powerful earthquake in Afghanistan has left at least 1,000 people dead and more than 2,800 injured, officials confirmed on Monday. The magnitude 6 quake struck around midnight at a shallow depth of 10 kilometers (6 miles), leveling homes and trapping families under rubble.

Helicopters were dispatched to ferry the wounded to hospitals, while rescue workers combed through collapsed structures in search of survivors. Authorities warned that the death toll could rise as emergency crews continue their efforts in remote areas.

“This is one of the worst earthquakes we have faced,” said Sharafat Zaman, spokesperson for Afghanistan’s health ministry, who appealed for international assistance to deal with the crisis.

The disaster compounds the challenges facing Afghanistan’s Taliban administration, already strained by a sharp decline in international aid and the return of hundreds of thousands of displaced Afghans from neighboring countries.

Aid organizations have begun mobilizing, but access to devastated regions remains difficult due to damaged infrastructure and ongoing instability.