Afghanistan earthquake: Rescuers dig by hand as UN, US and EU offer help
- The death toll from Wednesday’s earthquake in Afghanistan hit 1,000 – and could rise
- UN says it has ‘fully mobilised’ to help, as disaster sets off a new humanitarian crisis
02:17
More than 1,000 deaths now reported after Afghanistan earthquake as rescuers try to reach victims
The 5.9-magnitude quake struck hardest in the rugged east, where people already lead hardscrabble lives in the grip of a humanitarian crisis made worse since the Taliban takeover in August.
In Paktika province’s hard-hit Gayan district, villagers stood atop the mud bricks that once was a home there. Others carefully walked through dirt alleyways, gripping onto damaged walls with exposed timber beams to make their way.
“People are still trapped under the rubble,” said Mohammad Amin Huzaifa, head of the Information and Culture Department in hard-hit Paktika, adding that at least 1,000 people had died in that province alone.
He said more than 1,500 people were injured, many critically.
United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres said the global agency has “fully mobilised” to help, deploying health teams and supplies of medicine, food, trauma kits and emergency shelter to the quake zone.