Rescue operations are ongoing in eastern Afghanistan after a powerful earthquake struck late Sunday night, leaving at least 800 people dead and hundreds more injured.
The 6.0-magnitude tremor, followed by a series of aftershocks, devastated remote mountain communities near the country’s border with Pakistan.
Entire villages built with mud and stone collapsed, trapping families under the rubble.
Ehsanullah Ehsan, head of the Kunar Provincial Disaster Management Authority, confirmed to reporters that emergency teams worked through the night.
“There are still injured people trapped in far-flung villages who must be airlifted or transported to hospitals,” he said.
With official rescue teams overwhelmed, local residents joined in the desperate search for survivors, digging through debris with shovels, sticks, and even their bare hands.
In some areas, grieving villagers wrapped the dead, including children, in white shrouds before performing swift burials.
Humanitarian agencies warn that access remains a major challenge.
The UN migration agency noted that several of the worst-hit areas are still cut off due to blocked and damaged roads, raising fears that the death toll may rise further as more villages become reachable.
Search for survivors continues as Afghan earthquake claims over 800 lives
