Afghanistan quake death toll passes 1,100 as rescuers search for survivors

Rescue teams scoured Afghanistan’s mountainous east for survivors on Tuesday, as the death toll from a strong earthquake rose to 1,124, according to an updated death toll from the Afghan Red Crescent Society.

At least 3,251 people have been injured and more than 8,000 houses have been destroyed in the disaster, the group said on Tuesday. Taliban authorities had earlier said the death toll was about 900.

The 6.0 magnitude quake struck late Sunday night in several provinces, flattening villages and leaving people trapped under rubble for hours. It damaged or destroyed thousands of homes that were made mostly of mud bricks and wood.

“The injured are being evacuated so these figures may change significantly,” Yousaf Hammad, a spokesman for Afghanistan’s National Disaster Management Authority, told Associated Press. “The earthquake caused landslides in some areas, blocking roads, but they have been reopened, and the remaining roads will be reopened to allow access to areas that were difficult to reach.”

The majority of casualties were in Kunar province, where most people live in steep river valleys separated by high mountains. Helicopters are being used to evacuate the injured to hospital, and aid agencies said their teams were making journeys on foot to reach the most isolated areas.