Afghan quake kills 2000

Two massive earthquakes have killed 2,000 people in northern Afghanistan and officials fear the death toll could reach 5,000 with many thousands more injured and homeless.

One quake measuring 6.0 on the Richter scale struck 90 miles north of the capital Kabul, its epicentre in the Hindu Kush mountains. Fifteen hundred homes were destroyed in the regional capital, Nahrin, at about 3pm British time yesterday.

A series of aftershocks followed, then at 7am today a second quake registering 5.0 on the scale obliterated five villages in the area.

A regional Afghan commander, General Ali Khalil, who flew over the area, said: "From the helicopter we didn't see any standing homes in and around Nahrin. Everyone is bringing the dead bodies of their families into the yards of their houses or into the streets."

There were conflicting reports about the number of dead. United Nations sources in the country estimated almost 5,000 but Afghan officials said 2,000. An Afghan defence ministry spokesman said: "Our reports say there are 4,000 injured, at least 1,500 homes destroyed and 20,000 people are homeless." So far 1,800 bodies have been recovered, he added.

The area where the earthquakes hit includes territory where many British peacekeepers are based. Over the next 10 days 1,700 Royal Marines from 3 Commando Brigade will have arrived at Bagram airport to supplement US forces fighting the al Qaeda remaining in the mountains.

Interim Afghan prime minister Hamid Karzai cancelled a scheduled visit to Turkey and called an emergency meeting of ministers to co-ordinate rescue work. His spokesman said: "We are sending rescue teams but aftershocks are making relief efforts dangerous."

Aid workers in the northern town of Mazar-i-Sharif, 120 miles from Nahrin, said they felt the first quake and ran out into the streets. Light shocks were also felt in the Pakistan capital Islamabad.

A team from UN aid agencies and the International Committee for the Red Cross is bound for Nahrin to assess the damage, taking hundreds of tents and blankets. The European Commission said its aid agency, Echo, has also sent 500 tents and 1,000 blankets with more to come, and US special envoy Zalmay Khalilzad pledged aid.

International Security Assistance Force spokesman Colonel Neal Peckham said the Afghan government had asked the peacekeepers to send reconnaissance teams to investigate casualties and the extent of damage.

Shoja Zare, radio operator with locally-based French aid agency Acted, said: "Each five or 10 minutes there is a shake. There is no hospital, no doctor, to help these people."

A 7.2-magnitude quake in the Hindu Kush on 3 March killed more than 100 people. Although yesterday's quake was weaker, it was shallower - about 40 miles from the surface - meaning it is more likely to cause damage, said US geophysicists.