The death toll from a major earthquake that rocked eastern Afghanistan on Sunday night has climbed to at least 1,411, the ruling Taliban’s chief spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid said Tuesday, as rescue operations, hampered by rough terrain, continued across the affected region. At least 3,124 people were injured and 5,412 houses were destroyed, Mujahid said.
“The destruction is overwhelming. Entire villages have been flattened, and people are still trapped under the rubble of collapsed homes. Roads are blocked, making it nearly impossible to move supplies or evacuate the wounded,” Dr. Abudl Majeed Ahmadzai, Director of the Kabul Asia Hospital, who travelled to the affected region, told CBS News.
In the hard-hit Kunar and Nangarhar provinces, the earthquake trapped people under rubble when homes, which are largely made of wood and mud in the region, collapsed onto them as they slept.
Ahmadzai said the injured were being carried on foot for hours, sometimes on makeshift stretchers, just to reach basic help.
“The situation is desperate. Food is scarce, medical help is insufficient, and the only effective way to deliver assistance is by helicopter. Without air support, reaching these communities is nearly impossible,” Ahamdzai told CBS News.
