Afghanistan Earthquake: According to disaster management experts, the death toll from the earthquake that struck Afghanistan on Wednesday reached 1,000, with more than 600 wounded.
As news from isolated mountain communities trickles in, the death toll is anticipated to rise.
After the magnitude 6.1 earthquake, homes were reduced to rubble, and people covered in blankets lay on the ground, according to images posted on Afghan media.
Photos revealed that there were still individuals trapped in remote locations and under the debris.
According to health and humanitarian personnel, rescue efforts were hampered by challenging circumstances, including heavy rains, landslides, and the fact that many settlements were tucked away in difficult-to-reach mountainside regions.
“There are still many bodies buried under the ground. The Islamic Emirate’s rescue teams have come, attempting to remove the wounded and dead with the assistance of the locals, “An employee of one of Paktika’s major hospitals who asked to remain anonymous because he was not authorized to talk to the media stated.
The hard-line Islamist Taliban authorities, who seized control of the nation in August after two decades of war and have been shut off from most outside support due to sanctions, will face a significant challenge in mounting a rescue mission.
A spokesperson for the Taliban-run ministry of defense, which was in charge of organizing rescue operations, claimed it had deployed ambulances and helicopters, along with teams from the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA).
Helicopters allegedly can’t land this afternoon despite continuous search and rescue attempts being hampered by heavy rain and wind, he said in an email.
Eric is a professional news editor, writer, and blogger for the last 10 years. He is working with NewsGater as an off-beat news editor cum writer.