Afghanistan earthquake: Scores killed as quake strikes Kunar province
A magnitude 6 earthquake has struck a remote, mountainous region in northeastern Afghanistan, causing hundreds of deaths and injuries.
The quake hit Kunar province overnight on Sunday, destroying stone and mud homes, with authorities saying the number of casualties could be high. Reuters cited officials as saying the quake killed 30 people in a single village.
The country’s health ministry said the actual death toll was difficult to determine as the region's villages were isolated and hard to access. A spokesperson for the ministry, Sharafat Zaman, said the number of casualties was high but that teams were on the ground in hard-to-reach areas.
Dozens of rescue teams are searching through the rubble of demolished homes, and local hospitals have already received hundreds of injured people. Officials say the number of casualties is expected to rise as information comes in from remote villages with a lack of roads and infrastructure.
The earthquake occurred at a depth of 10 kilometers on the border with Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa region and affected several districts of Kunar province.
Authorities in Kabul say 812 people have been killed and at least 2,800 injured in Kunar and Nangarhar provinces, where villages on mountain slopes were almost completely destroyed.
“We need international help because so many people have lost their lives and homes,” Mr Zaman told Reuters.
International media images show helicopters transporting the injured from affected areas, while locals, security forces and doctors are helping survivors get to ambulances. The country's defence ministry said 40 military flights had evacuated 420 dead and injured.
So far, no foreign government has announced direct support for the rescue missions, according to the Afghan Foreign Ministry. China, however, has said it is ready to provide assistance "as needed and within its capabilities." Meanwhile, the UN Secretary-General António Guterres announced that the UN mission in Afghanistan was preparing a support plan for the affected areas.
Afghanistan is one of the countries most vulnerable to natural disasters. The Hindu Kush mountain range, where the Indian and Eurasian tectonic plates meet, is frequently shaken by earthquakes. Last year, a series of earthquakes in the west of the country killed over 1,000 people.
Translation by Iurie Tataru
