In one of the most isolated corners of
eastern Afghanistan, they search in a
haze of dust and grief for survivors.
Most villages here are too remote for
rescue teams to reach. Their homes of
mud, brick, and wood, no match for an
earthquake that struck just after
midnight, tearing buildings and sleeping
families apart.
My dad, my dad, cries this little boy.
>> On footage from Afghan television. But
with communication so difficult, the
fate of his father isn't clear.
Even for those who are pulled out alive,
there is no easy way of reaching medical
treatment.
The only way to escape much of Kunar
Province right now is by air. But there
are too many wounded and not enough
helicopters or space on board to get the
wounded out, let alone get heavy lifting
equipment in, leaving those left behind
losing hope.
Almost the entire village has collapsed.
There are children trapped under the
rubble. The elderly are under the
rubble. Young people are under the
rubble. We need help here.
No cookie.
>> The Taliban run government says it put a
rescue operation into place shortly
after the quake hit.
But there is little foreign aid here
since it took power in one of the
world's poorest countries. With so few
resources, some of the worst hit areas
are still to be reached. Right now
because of the earthquake there have
been several landslides that have
happened and that have blocked even the
existing roadways and pathways.
So search and rescue efforts are going
to be extraordinarily difficult.
>> Already the fragile health system here
is overwhelmed with every hospital in
the region declaring a state of
emergency.
But the graveyards of the Mazar Valley
are overflowing too. The death toll so
high that mass funerals are beginning to
be held.
>> Afghanistan burying its dead and
desperately trying to help those still
clinging on to survival in a place where
so many now need assistance and there is
so little to go around. Rachel Younger,
ITV News.