Kabul blast felt like an earthquake, say witnesses

People at site of huge blast that
killed at least 80 people describe
scenes of confusion and large-
scale destruction.
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Witnesses described scenes of panic, confusion and destruction following a devastating bomb blast at Kabul's diplomatic quarter that killed scores of people and wounded hundreds. "[I have] not heard something this big before", Fatima Faizi, a Kabul resident, told Al Jazeera, minutes after the blast
on Wednesday.
At the Wazir Akhbar Khan hospital,
there were scenes of chaos as
ambulances brought in wounded and frantic relatives scanned casualty lists and questioned hospital staff for news.
"I couldn't think clearly, there was a
mess everywhere," Nabib Ahmad, who was lightly hurt, told the Reuters news agency.
A suspected truck bomb ripped
through the heart of Kabul's diplomatic area in a "earthquake-like" blast described by officials as "one of the biggest" to have hit the city. At least 80 people were killed killed and more than 300 wounded.
Kabul residents said the explosion was so powerful it could be felt throughout the Afghan capital.
"I was just 500m from the location of.the explosion and it was so heavy that in every part of Kabul, people thought as if it was next to them," Mushtaq Rahim, an independent analyst and security commentator, told Al Jazeera.
"It was pretty strong. It felt like a
tremor, like an earthquake in many
parts of the city. As soon as the blast went off, one could see a huge amount of smoke coming from the area," Rahim added.
Mohammad Hassan, who worked at a bank near the site of the blast, also
said the explosion felt "like an earthquake". He suffered from a head wound.
The explosion went off at rush hour
near Zanbaq square, in Kabul's 10th
district, close to shops and restaurants, as well as government offices and foreign embassies.
Social media reacts to Kabul bomb blast Faizi said the explosion "was so loud that it shattered" all the windows in her home.
Source: Aljazzera news