In Remote Afghanistan, Scenes From a Deadly Earthquake

Hopes of finding additional survivors faded a day after a deadly earthquake struck eastern Afghanistan, with the worst damage apparently centered in remote, mountainous Paktika Province. Provincial officials said that at least 1,000 people had been killed, while the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs estimated that 770 people had been killed and 1,440 people had been injured in the 5.9-magnitude quake, and cautioned that those figures were very likely to rise.

In Geyan, one of the hardest hit districts in the province, the agency said that 1,500 houses were damaged or destroyed. These images show the initial scale of the damage and the relief efforts, which officials said were winding down.

Thursday, June 23

People amid the destruction caused by the earthquake in Geyan village.

A Taliban helicopter taking off after dropping supplies in Geyan.

Hawa and her daughter Safia, at the hospital in Sharana, in Paktika Province. Hawa lost almost her entire family except for two of her children.

Afghans standing by the bodies of relatives killed in an earthquake in Geyan.

Burying victims in Geyan.

People warmed themselves by an outdoor fire after their homes were destroyed by the earthquake.

Residents laid out clothes to dry near the ruins of damaged houses in the Bernal district in Paktika Province.

Mira was pulled out of the rubble and taken to a hospital in Sharana. One side of her body was crushed by the rubble, and she sustained serious injuries.

A government delegation that arrived in Azore Kalai village praying before starting to distribute aid on Thursday.

A damaged house in Azor Kalai village of Geyan district.

Residents from the village of Azor Kalai in the district of Geyan sorted through the belongings that they managed to pull out of the rubble, while taking shelter in makeshift tents.

Padshah Gul, 30, outside where his house once stood. He and his brother spent hours rescuing at least a dozen family members from the wreckage, but two died, including his sister-in-law.

Food and tents being unloaded from trucks in Geyan.

Wednesday, June 22

A photo provided by the state-run news agency Bakhtar shows the destruction caused by the earthquake in Paktika Province.

In another photo from the news agency, soldiers and Red Crescent officials responding to the earthquake.

An injured person at a hospital in Paktika Province.

People lining up to donate blood for the earthquake victims in Geyan.

A photo from the Bakhtar news agency shows the evacuation of an injured person in Paktika Province.

Searching for survivors in a village in Paktika Province.