Witnesses and survivors have described horrific scenes after a Pakistani air raid hit a drug rehabilitation centre in Kabul, killing more than 400 people. The strike, the deadliest single attack in a three-week war between the neighbours, left victims burned in their beds or crushed by collapsing walls.
An ambulance driver, Haji Fahim, said he arrived at the hospital to find 'everything was burning, people were burning'. Afghan rescue crews continued to dig bodies from the rubble on Tuesday. The Afghan interior ministry said 408 people were killed and 265 injured at the state-run Omid hospital, which was hit late on Monday evening.
Surviving patients, dressed uniformly in green outfits with shaved heads, sat inside a yard. Bunk beds stood in the open after roofs collapsed, with blankets, mattresses and shoes strewn across the area. Yousaf Rahim, a patient, said: 'My bed was in the corner, and I suffered injuries to my leg and thigh. It was a horrific scene. Patients fell from their beds, screaming and running as fire and smoke filled the wards.'
Mohammad Mian, who works in the radiology department, said many young people under treatment lived in large containers on the campus and very few survived. The UN called for an independent investigation into the killings, with human rights spokesperson Thameen Al-Kheetan stating that victims and their families are entitled to reparations.
Pakistan has rejected accusations it deliberately targeted the hospital, claiming it bombed 'technical support infrastructure and ammunition storage facilities' in Kabul. The conflict, which escalated in February when Pakistan launched airstrikes on militant targets in Afghanistan, is the worst ever between the neighbours.
