Rescue efforts, aid coming in for quake-hit Afghanistan

International

RESCUE efforts continued after a massive earthquake killed more than 800 people and injured thousands in eastern Afghanistan on Sunday (local time).

Most of the fatalities happened in the mountainous Kunar province, which was closest to the epicenter of the 6.0 magnitude, a BBC report said.

Several nations have committed to extend help as some villages remain inaccessible and local health facilities have been overwhelmed.

The quake struck as Afghanistan continues to reel from a severe drought, aid cuts and what the World Food Programme described as an unprecedented hunger crisis.

The earthquake hit at 23:47 local time (19:47 GMT) on Sunday, some 27km (17 miles) east of Jalalabad - the country's fifth-largest city, in eastern Nangarhar province.

Kunar, a rugged, mountainous region with limited farmland, suffered the worst of the damage.

Massive flooding and landslides have hit the region in the past few days. With roads blocked, government rescue operations needed to be carried out by air.

"Entire villages are flattened, roads to deep mountainous areas are still closed. So now, for us, the priority is not finding dead under the rubble, but rather reaching out to those injured," a Taliban official in Kunar province said in the report.

There were also reports of people stil trapped under the rubble for hours and dying as they awaited rescuers.