The death toll from yesterday’s earthquake in Afghanistan reached more than 1,500 people and 2,000 injured. Others are still missing.
Faraan: Al-Alam quoted four Taliban government ministers who visited Bektika province as saying that the quake had destroyed hundreds of homes and that the death toll could rise due to the bodies and wounded under the rubble.
Al-Alam TV correspondent stressed that the heavy rains that fell after the earthquake worsened the condition of the ruins, because the houses in Bektika are made of mud. He noted that two humanitarian aid planes had arrived from the Islamic Republic, another aid plane from Qatar, as well as a shipment of aid from Pakistan’s land borders. Al-Alam correspondent added: “The United Nations, in turn, has provided tents to shelter the injured and displaced people of the earthquake.”
An Afghan citizen who lost his house due to the earthquake told Al-Alam: “I was in a neighboring village on the night of the earthquake. When I returned, I saw that my house was completely destroyed by the earthquake and I had nothing left.” Rescue operations are progressing at a slow pace. The mountainous and impassable area has slowed aid. The government has used military helicopters for relief operations. In addition, residents of neighboring cities have come to help the affected areas.
Another citizen told Al-Alam: “The earthquake happened at 1:30 at night while we were asleep. I lost a member of my family. The area had hundreds of victims, including dead and wounded, and a number of destroyed houses, and we also lost hundreds of or people. We need help with water, food and medicine.” According to the latest statistics, the number of victims has reached 1,500 and more than 2,000 people have been injured.
