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
Bodies of Afghan men wrapped in blankets pictured before the burial rituals, who were killed in an earthquake in Gayan district, Paktika province on June 22, 2022. Image: AFP
Sharan, Afghanistan: Desperate rescuers battled against the clock Thursday under pouring rain to pull survivors from the rubble after a powerful earthquake struck a mountainous border region of Afghanistan, killing at least 1,000 people.
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.
"People are digging grave after grave," 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.
"People are still trapped under the rubble," he told journalists.