Afghanistan Earthquake Victim Rescue Operation Claims Nearly Complete, Taliban: Nobody Trapped Under Rubble

Afghans at the site of collapsed buildings caused by the earthquake. (Twitter/@Dragonvibee)

JAKARTA - Aid began arriving on Thursday in remote parts of Afghanistan that were rocked by a severe earthquake, killing 1,000 people, while the ruling Taliban said rescue operations were nearing completion.

The 6.1 magnitude earthquake struck Wednesday at 1.30 am about 160 km (100 miles) southeast of Kabul, in arid mountains dotted with small settlements near the border with Pakistan.

Poor communication and a lack of proper roads are hampering aid efforts in a country already grappling with a humanitarian crisis, which has worsened since the Taliban took over last August.

"The rescue operation has been completed, no one is trapped under the rubble," Mohammad Ismail Muawiyah, a spokesman for the Taliban's military commander in the worst-hit Paktika province, told Reuters, as quoted by June 24.

Meanwhile, Mohammad Nassim Haqqani, a spokesman for the disaster ministry, told Reuters rescue operations had been completed in key districts, but were still continuing in some remote areas.

Separately, the United Nations (UN) said on Thursday the Taliban's Ministry of Defense had indicated 90 percent of search and rescue operations had been completed.

Two retired officers in Nepal involved in the aftermath of the 2015 earthquake that killed 9,000 people expressed surprise that rescue operations could be nearly finished so quickly, but one noted that if most of the houses damaged were minor, it was possible.

It is known that the quake killed around 1,000 people and injured 1,500, Muawiyah said. Meanwhile, more than 3,000 houses were destroyed. The death toll makes it the deadliest earthquake in Afghanistan in two decades, according to US government data.

In addition, about 1,000 people had been rescued as of Thursday morning, Sharafat Zaman, a spokesman for the Ministry of Health told Reuters.

"Aid has reached the regions and is continuing but more is still needed," he said.

Nonetheless, Abdul Qahar Balkhi, spokesman for Afghanistan's foreign ministry, on Thursday repeated calls for international assistance.

"We call on the natural disaster management agency and the international community to provide immediate and comprehensive assistance to the Afghan people," he said in a tweet.

The disaster rescue operation will be a major test for the Taliban, who took power when US-led international forces withdrew after two decades of war.

The humanitarian situation has deteriorated alarmingly since the takeover of the Taliban, aid officials say, with the country cut off from much international aid due to sanctions.

The United Nations says the World Food Program (WFP) is sending food and logistical equipment to the affected areas, with the initial aim of supporting 3,000 households. Next, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan and the United Arab Emirates also announced plans to provide assistance to Afghanistan.