The death toll from the powerful earthquake, which hit South Asia on Monday, has reached nearly 300 people.

At least 275 people are known to have died and up to 2000 were injured in the 7.5-magnitude earthquake.

The earthquake occurred at a depth of 200 kilometres and was centred in the mountainous Hindu Kush region, hitting northern Afghanistan, Pakistan and northern India.

Rescuers are working hard to help those affected, especially the inhabitants of remote mountainous regions where the scale of the disaster is still unclear.

Among the victims are 12 Afghan schoolgirls, who were killed in a stampede resulting from the earthquake.

Most of the deaths are reported in northern Pakistan with at least 214 people known to have become victims of the natural disaster.

In Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province alone, at least 179 people are known to have died and more than 1800 injured.

Series of tremors were registered west of the original earthquake in the following hours, the BBC informs.

Buildings in Dushanbe, the capital of Tajikistan, were also damaged by the earthquake.

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