Thursday 23 June 2022 02:17 AM Taliban appeals for aid after 6.1-magnitude tremor kills more than a thousand ... trends now
The Taliban has appealed for international aid after a powerful earthquake struck eastern Afghanistan, killing at least 1,000 people.
The 6.1-magnitude earthquake – the country's deadliest in two decades – destroyed at least 2,000 homes and flattened hundreds of villages.
Around 1,500 people were injured in the quake – which struck the province of Paktika on Tuesday night.
The Taliban's supreme leader Haibatullah Akhundzada called on international NGOs to 'spare no effort' to help those affected 'by this great tragedy'.
Homes have been reduced to rubble after the tremors, with bodies swathed in blankets lying on the ground in the eastern Pakitka province.
The United Nations' humanitarian agency was scrambling to get emergency shelter, trauma care and food aid to the scene, and said the death toll is expected to rise even further.
The international community has largely left Afghanistan after the Taliban takeover of the country last year, which will likely complicate any relief efforts for this country of 38million.
Taliban security and rescue workers survey the damaged house after an earthquake in Gayan village in Paktia province, Afghanistan
The 6.1-magnitude earthquake – the country's deadliest in two decades – destroyed at least 2,000 homes and flattened hundreds of villages
Search and rescue operations continue as an earthquake struck the country's east, killing over 1,000 people in Paktika, Afghanistan
A powerful 6.1 magnitude earthquake has struck eastern Afghanistan , killing more than 1,000 people, as rescuers fight to save survivors
A man carries a body wrapped in a rug after the tremors struck the province in the early hours
The earthquake struck Paktika province in east Afghanistan, some 100 miles south of the capital Kabul, and tremors were felt in India and Pakistan
The quake struck about 27 miles from the city of Khost, near the Pakistani border, at a depth of 32 miles
The head of the Taliban administration's natural disaster ministry, Mohammad Nassim Haqqani, said the majority of deaths were in the province of Paktika, where 100 people were killed and 250 injured
Mounting a rescue operation could prove a major test for the Taliban, who took over the country in August and have been cut off from much international assistance because of sanctions.
Footage from Paktika province near the Pakistan border showed victims being carried into helicopters to be airlifted from the area.
Images widely circulating online from the province showed destroyed stone houses, with residents picking through clay bricks and other rubble.
Bakhtar posted footage of a resident receiving IV fluids from a plastic chair outside the rubble of his home and others sprawled on gurneys.
Adding to the challenge for Afghan authorities is recent flooding in many regions, which the disaster agency said had killed 11, injured 50 and blocked stretches of highway.
The quake struck about 27 miles from the city of Khost, near the Pakistani border, the US Geological Survey (USGC) said.
The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said in its first response bulletin that humanitarian partners were preparing to assist affected families in Paktika and Khost provinces, in coordination with the Taliban authorities.
'Immediate needs identified include emergency trauma care, emergency shelter and non-food items, food assistance and WASH (water, sanitation and hygiene) support,' OCHA said.
'Given the unseasonable, heavy rains and cold, emergency shelter is an immediate priority.'
The international community has largely left Afghanistan after the Taliban takeover of the country last year
Images widely circulating online from the province showed destroyed stone houses, with residents picking through clay bricks and other rubble
The agency said the Afghan defence ministry had dispatched five helicopters to Paktika province to facilitate medical evacuations, while a medical team has been sent to
