Authorities in Afghanistan have ended the search for survivors after an earthquake that killed over 1,000 people, a senior official said on Friday.
About 2,000 people were injured and 10,000 houses were partially or completely destroyed in the early Wednesday earthquake, Mohammad Nassim Haqqani, a spokesperson for the disaster ministry, told Reuters.
Poor communications and a lack of proper roads have hampered relief efforts in a country grappling with a humanitarian crisis that deteriorated sharply after the Taliban took over last August as U.S.-led international forces withdrew. Japan, South Korea, Taiwan and the United Arab Emirates all said on Thursday they planned to send aid. Supplies from Pakistan have already crossed the border.
He did not elaborate on why. People have been pulled alive from the rubble of other earthquakes after considerably more time.