Afghanistan toll may go up as officials say villages destroyed, hundreds still buried under debris

ISLAMABAD: Following Saturday’s powerful earthquake that struck western Afghanistan, people on Sunday attempted to dig out the dead and injured with their hands in Herat, clambering over rocks and debris. Survivors and victims were trapped under buildings that had crumbled to the ground, their faces grey with dust.
One video, shared online, shows people freeing a baby girl from a collapsed building after being buried up to her neck in debris. A hand is seen cradling the baby’s torso as rescuers ease the child out of the ground. Rescuers said it was the baby’s mother. It is not clear if the mother survived. Abdul Wahid Rayan, a spokesman at the ministry of information and culture, said Sunday the death toll is higher than reported. Villages have been destroyed, and hundreds of civilians are buried under the debris, he said while calling for urgent help.
At least a dozen teams have been scrambled to help with rescue efforts, including from the military and nonprofit organisations like the Red Crescent. The UN migration agency deployed four ambulances with doctors and psychosocial support counsellors to the regional hospital. At least three mobile health teams were on their way to the Zenda Jan district, which is one of the worst-hit areas.
Doctors Without Borders set up five medical tents at Herat Regional Hospital to accommodate up to 80 patients. Authorities have treated more than 300 patients, according to the agency. Unicef dispatched thousands of supplies, including winter clothes, blankets and tarpaulins as temperatures dropped. Irfanullah Sharafzai, a spokesman for the Afghan Red Crescent Society, said seven teams were busy with rescue efforts while others were arriving from eight nearby provinces. They set up a temporary camp for the displaced, Sharafzai said. Teams described the destruction near Herat as much worse than initially feared, with entire villages flattened. ap