Deadly Afghanistan earthquake kills at least 1000

The death toll from an earthquake in Afghanistan on Wednesday hit 1,000, the country’s disaster management officials said, with more than 600 injured and the toll expected to grow as information trickles in from remote mountain villages.

An unknown number of people are reportedly still remained stuck under houses reduced to rubble and in outlying areas Afghan media reports read. Bodies swathed in blankets were seen laid on the ground amid rescue operations local media photos showed. The  6.1 magnitude earthquake had struck the nation about 44 km from the southeastern city of Khost, near the border with Pakistan, the US Geological Survey (USGS) reported.

The disaster comes amid Afghanistan facing a dire humanitarian crisis that has been compounded by Western sanctions imposed following the Taliban’s takeover of the country last August.

Health and aid workers said rescue operations were complicated by difficult conditions including rains, landslides and many villages being nestled in inaccessible hillside areas. Mounting the operation will prove a major test for Taliban authorities who have been cut off from much international assistance because of the sanctions. However, humanitarian aid had arrived from international agencies such as the United Nations.

A spokesman for the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA) said it was sending teams in addition to ambulances and helicopters sent by the Taliban-led ministry of defence, which was leading rescue efforts.

Wednesday’s quake is recorded as the deadliest in Afghanistan since 2002.