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The Independent UK
The Independent UK
National
Holly Bishop

Afghanistan villagers dig through rubble with bare hands in desperate search for earthquake victims

Afghanistan villagers dug through rubble with their bare hands as they desperately searched for their loved ones after a 6.0 magnitude earthquake rocked the country.

Footage released by Afghanistan's Public Health Ministry on Monday (1 September) shows individuals clawing through the wreckage, whilst the injured can be seen being carried away on stretchers.

One villager told the Associated Press that seven of his family’s children, five girls and two boys, three of his cousins and his uncle died.

The shallow quake struck the eastern province of Kunar, near the city of Jalalabad in neighbouring Nangarhar province, late on Sunday (31 August).

The Taliban’s chief spokesperson, Zabihullah Mujahid, said at least 812 people were killed and more than 2,500 had been injured.

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