Earthquake-affected Afghans look forward to humanitarian aid

KABUL, Sept. 2 (Xinhua) -- Standing connected a hilltop and gazing astatine his earthquake-ravaged village, Rohullah whispered successful grief that each his household members and relatives perished successful the devastating earthquake precocious Sunday night.

"About 60 to 70 of our relatives, including the families of my uncles, were killed successful the earthquake," the horror-struck antheral said.

The almighty 6.0-magnitude quake, among the strongest successful Afghanistan successful caller history, struck parts of eastbound Kunar state precocious Sunday, leaving much than 1,400 dormant and implicit 3,200 injured. The rugged terrain has made rescue operations and the transportation of assistance highly challenging.

"It was terrifying to spot children, women and the aged each gone. No 1 was near alive," said Rohullah, who happened to beryllium extracurricular the colony erstwhile the quake struck and returned hours aboriginal to find his hometown destroyed.

Recalling the strength of the tremor, the saddened antheral said, "It felt similar the mountains leaping into the entity and crashing backmost onto the earth," stressing that the survivors are successful urgent request of assistance.

An eyewitness who reached the country 16 hours aft the quake, and requested anonymity, confirmed the hardships, "Many affected families were near without nutrient and water," though the Afghan interim government, assistance agencies and section residents person been providing support.

"I telephone connected each well-off Afghans and businessmen to measurement guardant successful this captious signifier and assistance the affected families successful Kunar, wherever children, women, and the aged are surviving successful the unfastened without tents oregon basal necessities," quake subsister Zahidullah told Xinhua.

He urged the Afghan interim authorities to intensify rescue operations, retrieve bodies from the rubble and supply structure to the homeless.

"Virtually, it was a disaster. Hundreds of lives person been taken, and galore much person been injured. Some areas person yet to person immoderate assistance owed to the hard terrain and deficiency of roads," different survivor, Ahmad Waris Nabizada, said.

"I impulse businesspeople and foundation organizations to widen a helping manus and enactment the needy successful these conditions," Nabizada added.

Nabizada besides said that immoderate areas are inactive successful request of rescue operations to retrieve the dormant and injured bodies, calling connected the Afghan authorities to nonstop helicopters to transport the affected to harmless places and supply structure to the families.

"It was a terrifying night. We were dormant erstwhile a horrific bang jolted america awake. We rushed extracurricular and saw each the houses successful the colony destroyed. People were desperately trying to propulsion the dormant and injured from the debris," recalled Mohammadzada, who mislaid 8 household members.

"Within minutes, everything changed. Children, women and everything were buried. In the morning, rescue operations began. The dormant and injured were pulled out, and helicopters transported the victims. I woke up successful the hospital," said Shahidullah, who is receiving attraction successful Asadabad, the provincial superior of Kunar.

Shahidullah added that the quake-affected radical are successful request of assistance, including foodstuffs and aesculapian treatments.

Afghanistan has suffered respective deadly earthquakes successful caller years: successful 2022 successful eastbound Paktika, which killed hundreds; successful 2023 successful occidental Herat, which claimed much than 1,000 lives; and present successful Kunar and different eastbound provinces, which caused terrible casualties and destruction.