GAYAN, Afghanistan (AP) — An aftershock took more lives and threatened to pile even more misery on an area of eastern Afghanistan reeling from a powerful earthquake that state media said killed 1,150 people this week.
Wednesday’s magnitude 6 quake killed 121 children when it struck a remote, mountainous region already grappling with staggering poverty. It comes at a time when the country as a whole is spiraling deeper into economic crisis after many countries pulled back critical financing and development aid in the wake of the Taliban’s takeover.
On Friday, Pakistan’s Meteorological Department reported a new, 4.2 magnitude quake. State-run Bakhtar News Agency reported it took five more lives in hard-hit Gayan District.
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