India sends 21 tons of relief aid to Afghanistan after hit by a major earthquake
India sends 21 tons of relief aid to Afghanistan after hit by a major earthquake
Digital Desk: India has sent 21 tons of humanitarian aid to Afghanistan following a severe earthquake that killed more than 1,400 people on Sunday night.
External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar stated on X that the package arrived in Kabul on Tuesday. On Monday, the Ministry of External Affairs released photographs of assistance vehicles, indicating that India has already supplied food supplies.
The assistance package included basic goods such as blankets, tents, hygiene kits, water tanks, generators, and medicines. The minister further stated that India will continue to monitor the situation and provide additional assistance in the coming days.
The 6.0-magnitude quake injured more than 3,000 people, with Kunar province reporting the highest number of casualties.
According to accounts, the original tremor, which measured 6.3 on the Richter scale, was followed by many aftershocks. The epicentre was in Nangarhar Province's Kama area, close to the Pakistani border. Entire towns collapsed since most homes were made of mud and wood, trapping many people under rubble.
Rescue operations have been hampered by rough terrain, prompting Taliban leadership to send troops by airdrop into places where helicopters could not land.
A 5.2-magnitude earthquake struck eastern Afghanistan on Tuesday, exacerbating the situation, according to the US Geological Survey (USGS). The tremor was centered 34 kilometers northeast of Jalalabad in Nangarhar province.
The United Nations Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA) estimates that the sequence of earthquakes has directly affected roughly 12,000 people across four provinces.
