Several feared dead in Afghan earthquake

Scores of people are feared dead in an earthquake and landslide that buried 20 houses in northern Afghanistan on Monday, officials said. Details of the destruction were slow to emerge from the remote district. Rescuers have so far pulled two women’s bodies from the rubble of the landslide in Baghlan province and expect many others were buried, said provincial Gov Abdul Majid. The UN confirmed one other death and said houses were destroyed across five districts. An earthquake measuring a magnitude 5.4 struck the Hindu Kush region Monday morning, followed by a 5.7 quake, the US Geological Survey said. Both were felt as far away as the Afghan capital, Kabul, where buildings shook. Baghlan province’s Burka district, the site of the landslide, is a remote collection of mountain villages. It takes more than two hours to drive the approximately 40km (25 miles) from the provincial capital of Pul-e-Khumri to the area. There are no medical clinics in Burka, said Dr Salim Rasouli, so medics and ambulances were sent from the nearest city. “Right now our doctors, nurses and ambulances are at the site, helping people. As there is no communication system there, we cannot get the latest information on the casualties right now,” Rasouli said.