KABUL, Sept 1: Desperate Afghans clawed through rubble in the dead of the night in search of missing loved ones after a strong earthquake killed some 800 people and injured more than 2,500 in eastern Afghanistan, according to figures provided on Monday by the Taliban Government.
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The 6.0 magnitude quake late Sunday hit towns in the province of Kunar, near the city of Jalalabad in the neighbouring Nangahar province, causing extensive damage.
The quake at 11:47 pm was centred 27 kilometres east-northeast of the city of Jalalabad in Nangarhar province, the US Geological Survey said. It was just 8 kilometres deep. Shallower quakes tend to cause more damage. Several aftershocks followed.
Footage showed rescuers taking injured people on stretchers from collapsed buildings and into helicopters as people frantically dug through rubble with their hands.
A Taliban Government spokesman, Zabihullah Mujahid, said at a press conference Monday that the death toll had risen to 800 with 2,500 injured. He said that most of the casualties were in Kunar province.
Buildings in Afghanistan tend to be low-rise constructions, mostly of concrete and brick, with homes in rural and outlying areas made from mud bricks and wood. Many are of poor construction.
One resident in Nurgal district, one of the worst-affected areas in Kunar, said nearly the entire village was destroyed.
“Children are under the rubble. The elderly are under the rubble. Young people are under the rubble,” said the villager, who did not give his name.
“We need help here,” he pleaded. “We need people to come here and join us. Let us pull out the people who are buried. There is no one who can come and remove dead bodies from under the rubble.” (AP)
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