A strong 6.1 magnitude earthquake shook eastern Afghanistan early Wednesday, killing hundreds of people.
More than 920 people were reportedly killed, and more than 600 were injured, according to the Taliban government news agency that referenced Mawlavi Sharfuddin Muslim, the deputy state minister for disaster management, as reported by NPR.
Due to the damage to distant areas, immediately confirming the numbers was not possible. Though, authorities expect the numbers to increase with updates from remote villages in the mountain region.
Bakhtar News Agency uploaded footage of an unidentified man whose iPhone swung around to capture residences collapsed in the early morning to show the extent of the destruction.
The man on the video showed piles of rubble, saying that there were people killed underneath.
"Under that house, five people. This house, six people. And in this house, 13 dead bodies still under," he says." Then he moved his camera up the hill and claimed that "The village completely is destroyed."
Taliban Government Launches Rescue and Relief Efforts
A photo of the Afghanistan earthquake was released by the news agency showed men pulling out of the rubble with what appeared to be a small body wrapped in a blanket. One man was seen lighting up the scene with what looked to be a small flashlight clamped between his teeth. In a subsequent video clip, there were men seen lying on gurneys among the debris.
The worst damaged locations were distant farming villages in the eastern Afghan districts of Paktika and Khost. The areas were so remote that Afghan officials deployed seven helicopters and a medical team to help with the rescue attempt.
Paktika had the highest number of confirmed fatalities, where 255 people were killed, and more than 200 were injured. In the province of Khost, 25 were killed, and 90 were brought to a hospital.
Strong Tremors, Weak Buildings
Taliban supreme leader Haibatullah Akhundzada expressed his condolences in a statement.
According to Zabihullah Mujahid, the chief spokesman for the Taliban, an emergency meeting was conducted at the Presidential Palace in Kabul, and officials received orders to support the earthquake victims in any way they could.
On Twitter, Mujahid announced: "Land and air transport should be used to deliver food, clothing, and medicine to affected people."
Mounting a rescue operation for the Afghanistan Earthquake victims could be challenging for the Taliban, who took over the country in August. They had been cut from several international assistance because of sanctions.
Wednesday's earthquake was the deadliest in Afghanistan since 2002. It struck about 44 km (27 miles) from the southeastern city of Khost, near the border with Pakistan, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGC) said, per Reuters.
The 2002 tremor killed around 1,000 people in the northern part of the country. In 2015, A powerful quake killed more than 200 people in the region.
Due to the proximity of the Hindu Kush mountain to an active geological fault line, eastern Afghanistan and its bordering nations are particularly susceptible to devastating earthquakes, as per a report from CBS News. Many homes, hospitals, and other facilities in the area have weak structures, making them vulnerable to collapsing during tremors.
