More than 70 people were trapped in rubble after houses made of mud collapsed from two strong earthquakes today that triggered a landslide in the mountains of northern Afghanistan, officials said.
A remote village in Baghlan province appeared to have taken the brunt of the damage, the provincial police chief said, adding that information was trickling in slowly from the site.
Asadullah Shirzad said more than 70 people were trapped in Dara Azara village, but he had no information about casualties so far.
"We have sent a rescue team. There is no report of dead or wounded yet."
A quake measuring 5.4 struck the Hindu Kush region followed by a 5.7 aftershock, the United States Geological Survey said.
It was centered 174 km north of Kabul, where the quake was also felt. One woman has been rescued from the area, said Ghulam Farooq, head of the disaster operation center in Kabul. He said 22 houses had been destroyed and most of the missing were women and children.
Reuters