First helicopter aid flight to remote Afghan village hit by quake

For the first time since an earthquake struck northern Afghanistan eleven days ago, a helicopter has been used to take urgently needed supplies to a remote mountain village. The earthquake is estimated to have killed about four thousand people and left another thirty-thousand homeless. Relief efforts have been hampered by fog, snow and impassible roads. But clearer weather has now enabled three helicopters to reach the town of Rustaq, at the centre of the quake-affected area. Two of the helicopters were provided by the opposition military alliance which controls the area, while the third was chartered from neighbouring Tajikistan by aid organisations. A BBC correspondent in Rustaq says that after many initial problems the relief effort is now beginning to produce results.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service