People in quake-hit Afghanistan use shovels, bare hands to pull out victims

Volunteers and rescue workers in quake-hit Afghanistan say they are forced to use shovels and even their bare hands to look for victims and survivors.

“There is no modern equipment nor trained search and rescue teams. This could result in a rise in casualties. If we don’t urgently receive advanced and trained rescue teams in the area soon, we will see an increase in the loss of lives that could have been avoided,” Sabir, a rescue worker in western Afghanistan’s Herat province, told Al Jazeera on Sunday.

He urged the international community to send rescue teams to the impoverished South Asian country, which lacks a robust disaster management agency and other resources since the Taliban regained power two years ago.

According to official figures, at least 2,053 people have been killed and nearly 10,000 injured after the magnitude 6.3 quake and several aftershocks hit the aid-dependent country on Saturday morning.

Sabir said the actual toll could be higher.

“We still don’t know about casualties because most people – dead or alive – are still buried under the debris,” he said, adding that it was hard to put a number on how many are still trapped.

Sabir said he was jolted awake when the powerful earthquake shook the ground. “It was unlike anything I had experienced before,” the 30-year-old said.It was only after arriving in the Zenda Jan district of Herat, the quake’s epicentre, that he witnessed the extent of the impact of the tragedy. At least 13 villages in this district alone were deeply affected, he said.

“It was a massive vibration, and I felt fear, anxiety and panic altogether,” he said.

Shortly after ensuring his family’s safety, Sabir, an aid worker with a local NGO, reported to work to help with the emergency response.