A powerful nighttime earthquake leveled buildings and homes in eastern Afghanistan, killing hundreds as they slept and touching off a frantic scramble early Monday to find survivors in the rubble.

The 6.0 quake struck just before midnight Sunday in Kunar province near the city of Jalalabad.

Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid told a news conference Monday that at least 800 died and more than 2,500 were injured, according to The Associated Press.

Rescuers and security forces searched the rubble of flattened villages and the city of Jalalabad but were hampered by rock slides and destroyed roads.

Video from Reuters showed injured Afghans being moved from a helicopter on stretchers at a military base in Jalalabad and others lying in beds at hospitals.