Most of the rescue teams were dispatched to the northwest Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK) province, one of the worst-hit areas, where 185 people were killed and 2,102 houses were damaged. The latest aftershock came just before dawn today.
Advertisement
Mass burials were being conducted across the country, including those of 12 Afghan schoolgirls who were trampled to death as they rushed to escape their classrooms in Takhar province when the quake struck.
According to an article published by the AFP, rescuers and the Pakistan military are now in a race against time to reach victims that are stuck in remote regions experiencing freezing weather conditions.
Thousands of people have also been injured and thousands of homes destroyed.
There exists an urgent requirement for blankets and tents for anyone compelled to spend another night outdoors, they said.
“We pray for strength and comfort for those whose lives have been drastically altered by this event and immediate recovery for the communities affected by the quake”, the DFA said.
Abdullah Abdullah, chief executive of Afghanistan’s unity government, said global organizations were helping in the recovery, and officials at the State Department and the White House said they were ready to provide aid if needed.
The military said 27 of 45 landslides have been cleared on the strategic Karakoram highway.
The USA and Iran were among countries that offered to provide humanitarian assistance to Afghanistan, which already depends heavily on foreign aid after decades of war that have wrecked its economy and infrastructure.
But villagers say they believe more needs to be done. Another 32 people died in Chitral, the Pakistani town closest to the epicenter of the quake.
The quake was 120 miles deep, and its centre was around 51 miles southeast of Feyzabad in the country’s remote Hindu Kush mountain range. The tremors were also felt in India and China.
In Pakistan, over 1,500 people had been injured and 180 deaths have been reported, said Mr. Lindmeier.
The statement said Afghan forces captured the police headquarters.
Advertisement
Badakhshan is one of the poorest areas of Afghanistan and frequently hit by floods, snowstorms and mudslides. On October 8, 2005 a 7.6 magnitude quake ripped through the region, killing an estimated 75,000 and displacing another 3.5 million.
