Jakarta –
Strong earthquake hits the region Afghanistan killing at least 1,000 people and injuring 1,500 others. The toll is expected to rise, rescue teams are searching for victims in the rubble.
As reported AFPThursday (23/6/2022), a magnitude 5.9 earthquake struck eastern Afghanistan, where people are already living a difficult life in the grip of a humanitarian crisis that has been exacerbated since the Taliban’s rule.
“People are digging grave after grave,” said Information and Culture Department head Mohammad Amin Huzaifa in disaster-hit Paktika, adding that at least 1,000 people had died in the province alone.
He said more than 1,500 people were injured, many critically.
“People are still trapped under the rubble,” he told reporters.
The death toll continued to rise throughout the day as news of casualties was filtered from hard-to-reach areas in the mountains. The country’s supreme leader, Hibatullah Akhundzada, warned the possibility of casualties rising further.
The earthquake hit areas already affected by heavy rains, causing rock slides and landslides that hampered rescue efforts.
“It was a dire situation,” said Arup Khan, 22, recovering at a hospital in the Paktika provincial capital of Sharan.
Read more, on the next page:
–
