UAE rescue team to help search for Afghanistan earthquake survivors

Team to travel to stricken country to boost response to deadly disaster

President Sheikh Mohamed directed teams from Abu Dhabi Civil Defence, the National Guard and the Joint Operations Command to assist with the response to the earthquake. Photo: Wam

A team has left the UAE to help with rescue operations in Afghanistan after the earthquake that has killed more than 1,400 people.

The team will conduct field assessments in co-ordination with local authorities in the east of the country to enhance the effectiveness of search and rescue operations, state news agency Wam reported.

It comes after President Sheikh Mohamed directed teams from Abu Dhabi Civil Defence, the National Guard and the Joint Operations Command to assist the response to the earthquake.

"[They will help] broaden the scope of response, provide logistical and relief support to affected areas, and work to save as many lives as possible by rescuing survivors from under the rubble," Wam said.

The Joint Operations Command has intensified its relief efforts in Afghanistan. Today, three aircraft took off carrying more than 105 tonnes of food supplies to support and assist those affected by the earthquake that struck the eastern regions of Afghanistan. Photo: WAM

Earthquake-affected people receive relief aid distributed by the Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN) in the Dewa Gul Valley of Sawkay district in Kunar province. AFP

Workers load supplies onto a truck for earthquake victims in Nurgal district, Kunar province. Reuters

A doctor tends to an injured Afghan woman outside her damaged house in Kunar province. Reuters

Paramedics reach areas affected by an earthquake in Kunar. EPA

People sit outside their damaged houses. Reuters

Afghan volunteers collect donations for victims in Jalalabad. AP

A woman and her children wait for assistance in the village of Wadir. AP

Rescue officials prepare to airlift injured people to hospital. EPA

Residents from surrounding towns and villages try to reach the quake-hit region to assist survivors. AP

The body of a girl is placed on a bed frame after being pulled from the rubble. AP

Afghan boys sit on the rubble of a house after a deadly magnitude-6 earthquake struck Afghanistan on Sunday, at Lulam village, in Nurgal district, Kunar province. Reuters

Villagers wait for assistance in the village of Wadir. AP

A boy injured during Sunday's earthquake lies in a hospital bed in Jalalabad. AP

Rescue volunteers and Taliban security officers move the injured by military helicopter following a 6.0 magnitude earthquake in the Mazar Dara village of Nurgal, north-east of Jalalabad. AFP

Earthquake damage at Mazar Dara village in Nurgal district, eastern Afghanistan. AFP

An Afghan carries the body of a relative in a shroud from a ruined house following earthquakes in the Mazar Dara village of Nurgal, eastern Afghanistan. AFP

Bearers take the deceased to a funeral ceremony after earthquakes at Mazar Dara village in Nurgal district, eastern Afghanistan. AFP

An injured boy receives hospital treatment after a 6.0-magnitude earthquake near Jalalabad, Afghanistan. AFP

Afghans donate blood in Nangarhar. Hundreds are known to have died in the earthquake, with the death toll expected to rise. AP

Volunteers transport an injured man to hospital. AFP

Taliban soldiers and civilians carry earthquake survivors to an ambulance at an airport in Jalalabad. Reuters

The presence of the search and rescue team will coincide with efforts by Emirates Red Crescent to provide medical aid, supplies and shelter to those affected.

The 6.0-magnitude earthquake, followed by at least five aftershocks, hit remote areas in mountainous provinces near the border with Pakistan on Sunday night.

The earthquake's epicentre was about 27km north-east of the city of Jalalabad, according to the US Geological Survey, which said it struck 8km below the Earth's surface. Shallow quakes can inflict greater damage.