TEHRAN –The Iranian Red Crescent Society (IRCS) has dispatched the second and third humanitarian relief consignments to assist Afghan families affected by the recent devastating earthquakes.

The second shipment, sent on Saturday, was delivered to Kabul. It involved 37 tons of foodstuffs, eight tons of sanitary packages, and 10,000 blankets, ISNA reported.

The IRCS has previously sent 80, 50, and 67 tons of tents and blankets, sanitary goods, and foodstuffs, respectively.

The third consignment was transported on six trucks on Sunday. It included essential items like tents, dishes, rice, canned food, and hygiene kits.

On August 31, at 23.47 local time, a 6+ magnitude earthquake struck Afghanistan’s Nangarhar Province near the Pakistan border. The epicenter was located in the Kama district, some 30 km northeast of the city of Jalalabad. Several aftershocks have occurred since, with the initial quake felt in neighbouring provinces including Kunar, Laghman, and Nuristan, as well as Kabul. The quake’s hypocenter was estimated at only 8 to 10 km beneath the surface, exacerbating the quake’s impact.

A second earthquake of 5.5 magnitude struck the region on Tuesday, further destabilising the villages.

Afghanistan’s national disaster authority spokesman Mohammad Hammad told the AFP news agency that 10 people were injured across eight provinces, including Kunar, Nangarhar, and Laghman – the hardest hit over the weekend – that were jolted by the aftershocks.

Overall, the de facto authorities are now reporting 2,205 people killed and 3,640 people injured. Some 84,000 people have been affected, with 6,700 homes destroyed, UNOCHA reported.

“It is with profound sorrow that we learned about the devastating earthquake that hit Nangarhar, Kunar, Nuristan, and Laghman in eastern Afghanistan, causing many losses of life and injuries. The Iranian Red Crescent Society offers sincere condolences to you and the family of the victims. We stand by the people of Afghanistan, and we are ready to dispatch humanitarian aid as well as relief teams in case needed,” Pirhossein Kolivand,  the head of the IRCS, wrote in a message to the president of the Afghan Red Crescent Society (ARCS), Shahabuddin Delawa, on September 1st.

President Masoud Pezeshkian expressed deep sorrow over the tragedy in the “friendly and brotherly” nation of Afghanistan. He also wished a swift recovery for the injured.

Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi separately conveyed sympathy to the Afghan people and the families of the victims, emphasizing that Iran was fully prepared to dispatch relief and medical teams to the quake-hit areas.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei echoed the pledge, stressing that Iran stands ready to support the treatment of the injured and to work with Afghanistan through regional and joint cooperation to ease the suffering caused by the disaster.

MT/MG