Pakistani soldiers load food bags for earthquake survivors into an army helicopter in northwest Pakistan's Peshawar, Oct. 27, 2015. (Xinhua/Umar Qayyum)
KABUL/ISLAMABAD, Oct. 28 (Xinhua) -- The international community continued to express its condolences to the governments and peoples of Afghanistan and Pakistan, which suffered a massive earthquake on Monday with heavy casualties, and pledged immediate support for relief work.
A 7.5-magnitude earthquake with a depth of 210 km hit the Hindu Kush mountain range in northern Afghanistan at 0909 GMT on Monday, with strong tremors also felt in Pakistan and India. The death toll from the quake rose to 350, with thousands of people wounded, and the rescue and relief operations were in full swing.
China, whose northwestern Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, also felt the tremors, has offered disaster relief assistance to quake-hit Afghanistan and Pakistan based on their needs.
Chinese President Xi Jinping has sent messages of condolences to his counterparts in both Afghanistan and Pakistan.
In his message to Afghan President Mohammad Ashraf Ghani, Xi said China and Afghanistan share a traditional friendship and the Chinese people are saddened by the losses of life and property in Afghanistan in the earthquake.
In his message to Pakistani President Mamnoon Hussain, Xi said that China and Pakistan are all-weather strategic partners of cooperation and the Chinese people also feel the pains of the Pakistani people in the face of the disaster.
The Chinese leader pledged to provide the two countries with assistance if needed, expressing the belief that the two countries can overcome the disaster and rebuild their homelands.
Young Pakistanis gather around homes damaged in the 26 October 7.7 magnitude earthquake, in Bajuar, Pakistan, 27 October 2015. (EPA/HANIFULLAH KHAN)
China's Red Cross will provide emergency assistance in cash to the two countries, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lu Kang said on Tuesday, adding China is paying close attention to the disaster situation.
France was shocked by the heavy death toll from the major earthquake, and "extends its condolences to the victims' families. It reaffirms its solidarity with the Afghan, Pakistani and Indian people," the French foreign ministry said on Tuesday.
French embassies in the region would continue to closely monitor developments in the situation, it added.
The World Health Organization (WHO) on Tuesday voiced concern on the increasing health needs after the massive earthquake.
WHO spokesperson Christian Lindmeier told reporters in Geneva that some 866,000 people live in a circle of around 100 km around the epicenter of the quake.
The hardest-hit areas were those also most affected by militant violence, including an intense Taliban offensive that lasted for weeks in the remote parts of the north.
The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) warned on Tuesday that children in earthquake-hit areas of Afghanistan and Pakistan are facing "further deadly threats as extreme conditions and insecurity cut off communities from aid."
A Pakistani man loads food supplies for earthquake survivors in southern Pakistani port city of Karachi on Oct. 27, 2015. (Xinhua/Masroor)
Heavy rain and snow have been pounding the remote, mountainous areas affected by the quake over the past two days, it said, adding that communication is poor and access difficult due to the tough terrain and security operations.
"UNICEF in Afghanistan and Pakistan are working with the national governments and are prepared to deliver life-saving supplies to tens of thousands of affected children and their families," said UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric at Tuesday's briefing.
The United Nations said on Monday that it stands ready to support Afghanistan and Pakistan.
"United Nations agencies are mobilizing and stand ready to support government-led relief operations in both countries, if requested," said a statement released by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon's spokesperson.
Ban also sent his condolences to the victims and wished a speedy recovery to those injured.
Pakistani soldiers transfer an injured woman to a hospital after the severe earthquake in northwest Pakistan's Peshawar on Oct. 27, 2015. (Xinhua/Umar Qayyum)
"The U.S. government has been in touch with the governments in Afghanistan and Pakistan and we stand ready to provide any additional support that may be needed," U.S. White House press secretary Josh Earnest told a daily press briefing.
The Russian Ministry of Emergency Situations has offered assistance to Afghanistan and Pakistan, Russia's Sputnik News Agency reported on Monday.
"The head of the Russian Ministry of Emergency Situations, Vladimir Puchkov, has sent an official letter to the acting Afghan Minister of Emergency Situations and the Pakistani Chairman of the National Disaster Management Commission, with words of condolences and an offer to help," the statement said.
