In remote eastern Afghanistan, aid workers are continuing to race to assist survivors of Sunday’s devastating earthquake as the death toll continues to climb, UN humanitarians said on Tuesday. The magnitude six quake has already left more than 800 dead and at least 2,000 injured, but the total impact could be in the “hundreds of thousands”, according to the UN’s top aid official in the country, Indrika Ratwatte. Speaking from Kabul, Mr. Ratwatte said that mud and wooden roof structures were predominant in the affected mountainous provinces. “When the walls collapse, the roof is what basically falls on individuals, kills them or suffocates them,” he said. “Since this happened in the night, everybody was sleeping,” the senior UN aid official explained, indicating that many more people may be trapped under the debris.
Afghanistan quake: Aid teams still scrambling to reach survivors | UN News
