Kabul: At least 1,000 people were killed and the country’s worst earthquake in two decades in a powerful earthquake that struck a mountainous region in eastern Afghanistan early Wednesday, injuring more than 1,500. Officials warned that the already dire toll could still rise.
Recognizing that it was “difficult” for the government to step up rescue and rehabilitation efforts, Taliban sought help from the international community and humanitarian organisations, most of whom left the country last year from Western countries.
The 6.1-magnitude quake, which struck at a depth of 10 km, had its epicenter in Paktika province, about 44 km south-west of the city of Khost. The European Seismological Agency said tremors of more than 500 km were felt by 119 million people in Afghanistan, Pakistan and India.
Footage from news agency Bakhtar’s Paktika showed men in blankets carrying people to a waiting helicopter. Others were treated on the ground. One resident could be seen receiving IV fluids while sitting on a plastic chair outside the rubble of his home with still more necks stretched out. “People are digging grave after grave,” said Mohamed Amin Huzaifa, head of the Department of Information and Culture in Paktika. He said at least 1,000 people have died in that province alone.
Recognizing that it was “difficult” for the government to step up rescue and rehabilitation efforts, Taliban sought help from the international community and humanitarian organisations, most of whom left the country last year from Western countries.
The 6.1-magnitude quake, which struck at a depth of 10 km, had its epicenter in Paktika province, about 44 km south-west of the city of Khost. The European Seismological Agency said tremors of more than 500 km were felt by 119 million people in Afghanistan, Pakistan and India.
Footage from news agency Bakhtar’s Paktika showed men in blankets carrying people to a waiting helicopter. Others were treated on the ground. One resident could be seen receiving IV fluids while sitting on a plastic chair outside the rubble of his home with still more necks stretched out. “People are digging grave after grave,” said Mohamed Amin Huzaifa, head of the Department of Information and Culture in Paktika. He said at least 1,000 people have died in that province alone.