More than 800 killed after strong quake hits Afghanistan
Newshour
BBC
4.2 • 1.1K Ratings
🗓️ 1 September 2025
⏱️ 47 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Helicopters are being used in eastern Afghanistan where hundreds have been killed in a powerful earthquake. The Taliban government say there have been at least a hundred rescue flights to the quake's epicentre in Kunar and Nangahar provinces.
Also, Israel has been accused of genocide by a group of the world's leading experts on the subject.
And composer Max Richter on performing his eight hour long piece 'Sleep'!
(Photo: Matiullah Shahab helped dig graves in the village of Andarlachak Tangi, which was among those hit by Sunday's earthquake. Credit: Matiullah Shahab)
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Hello and welcome to NewsHour live from the BBC World Service in London. I'm Rebecca Kesbby. |
| 0:09.6 | And we begin the program today in Afghanistan where there are fears that the number of those killed in the earthquake that struck late last night could rise as rescuers struggle to get to remote areas. |
| 0:22.4 | At least 800 people are known to have been killed and at least 3,000 injured, mostly in the Kuna |
| 0:29.4 | province in the east of the country close to the Pakistan border. |
| 0:33.1 | But the magnitude 6 earthquake was fairly shallow and it's thought entire villages may have been destroyed in some mountainous communities. |
| 0:43.0 | Earthquakes are not uncommon in Afghanistan because the country lies on tectonic plates, |
| 0:47.7 | but it's the third major quake to hit the country since the Taliban retook control in 2021. |
| 0:55.0 | And we can hear from eyewitnesses to the disaster now. |
| 0:58.7 | This is Sayyahim from Afghanistan province. |
| 1:02.0 | I saw some injuries and dead body. |
| 1:05.8 | A lot of houses are destroyed. |
| 1:07.2 | I prepared my emergency teams for responding, for the treatment, for the |
| 1:13.1 | helping of the people. They are very afraid and they are destroyed and they lose the parents, |
| 1:21.2 | the children, the wives. Many mountain roads are impassable due to landslides and there have been desperate efforts to get helicopters into the air to collect the injured. |
| 1:33.9 | This local resident described the devastation in the Nurgal district of Kuna province. |
| 1:42.0 | Nearly 95% of our village is destroyed. We have many martyred and wounded people. In every household, |
| 1:48.9 | five to ten people are injured. Muslims listening, help us. For the sake of Allah, we have lost our |
| 1:55.3 | houses. Any kind of help will be good for us. Well, Dr. Raf Raphaola works for the provincial hospital in Azadabad in |
| 2:03.5 | Kuna, and a couple of hours ago, we managed to speak to him after his shift ended. |
| 2:11.3 | Our area isn't badly damaged and my family is safe, but our little hospital has been receiving injured people from nearby |
| 2:18.7 | towns and villages. We treated over 200 people today, among them pregnant women, children and the |
| 2:24.7 | elderly. We only have 150 beds, and we already had a lot of patients. The Red Cross is helping, |
... |
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