Eight people were killed and one child was injured on Friday when a house collapsed in Kabul following an earthquake in Afghanistan, the National Disaster Management Authority said.

An earthquake of magnitude 5.9 struck Afghanistan’s ⁠Hindu Kush region on Friday, the German Research Centre for Geosciences (GFZ) said.

The quake was at a depth of 177 km (110 miles), GFZ said.

Strong tremors were felt in Islamabad, Kabul in Afghanistan and the Indian capital New Delhi, according to Reuters ⁠witnesses. 

The Pakistan Meteorological Department’s National Seismic Monitoring Centre (NSMC) said that the earthquake was recorded at 9:13pm PST, with a depth of 190 kilometres. The epicentre was located in Afghanistan’s Hindu Kush region at latitude 36.48°N and longitude 70.84°E.

Residents across Islamabad, Rawalpindi, Murree, Taxila, Peshawar, Faisalabad and Multan felt strong tremors, though no significant damage or casualties have been reported.

In Punjab, the quake was felt in Sargodha, Chakwal, Chiniot, Jhelum, Mianwali, Narowal, Bhakkar, Hafizabad, Khanewal, Mandi Bahauddin, and Kamalia.

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa residents in Peshawar, Nowshera, Swat, Shangla, Lower Dir, Upper Dir, Kohat, Malakand, Mardan, Hangu, Abbottabad, Mansehra, Upper Hazara, Buner, Banno, Bajaur, Tank, and Charsadda reported tremors.

Gilgit Baltistan also felt the quake in Gilgit, Skardu, and Diamer, while in Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK), the tremors were reported in Muzaffarabad, Bhimber, Neelum Valley, Samahni, and Hattian Bala —including Channari, Chikothi, Gujjar Bandi, and Lipa.

Afghanistan, hemmed in by rugged mountains, is prone to a range of natural disasters. Its earthquakes are the most deadly, killing about 560 ⁠people on average each year.

Last month, a 5.8-magnitude earthquake rocked eastern Afghanistan including the capital Kabul resulting in only minor damage and one reported injury.

The quake hit on Friday just as people in the Muslim-majority country were sitting down to break their Ramadan fast.

The epicentre was near several remote villages around 130 kilometres (80 miles) northeast of Kabul, the United States Geological Survey said.

A powerful 6.3-magnitude quake in the country in November left at least ⁠27 dead and destroyed hundreds of houses.

— With additional input from AFP