New Delhi: India has sent earthquake relief assistance to Kabul by air in the aftermath of a devastating quake in eastern Afghanistan. External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar announced on Tuesday that 21 tonnes of aid, including blankets, tents, hygiene kits, water storage tanks, generators, kitchen utensils, portable water purifiers, sleeping bags, essential medicines, wheelchairs, hand sanitisers, water purification tablets, ORS solutions, and medical consumables, were airlifted to Afghanistan. Jaishankar emphasised India’s commitment to providing further humanitarian aid over the coming days and said that the situation will be continuously monitored. He added, "India will continue to monitor the ground situation and send more humanitarian aid over the coming days."

The earthquake, which struck with a magnitude of 6.0 late Sunday night, has claimed at least 1,411 lives and injured over 3,000, with Kunar province being the worst affected. Rescue and relief efforts remain challenging, especially in remote mountainous areas cut off from basic infrastructure. Aid workers are struggling to reach survivors in regions lacking road and mobile network access.

India’s Ministry of External Affairs had earlier posted images of trucks loaded with food supplies meant for those affected. The earthquake, followed by several aftershocks, also impacted neighbouring provinces, Laghman, Nangarhar, Nuristan, and tremors were felt as far as Pakistan. According to UNOCHA, the earthquake's epicentre was in the Kama district of Nangarhar Province, near the Pakistan border, and about 12,000 people have been directly impacted by the disaster.

With inputs from ANI