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Rescuers struggle to reach quake-hit Pakistani, Afghan regions as death toll rises to 311

Associated Press
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People injured from an earthquake receive treatment outside the Ayub Medical Hospital in Abbotabad, Pakistan, Monday, Oct. 26, 2015. One of Afghanistan’s most isolated and poverty-stricken regions was hit by a massive earthquake on Monday that reverberated across Asia, shaking buildings from Kabul to New Delhi, cutting power and communications, and killing almost 200 people, mostly in the remote mountain regions near the Afghan-Pakistan border. The number of casualties on both side of the border was expected to rise. (AP Photo/Aqeel Ahmed) (The Associated Press)

A Pakistani boy examines a house damaged caused by massive earthquake in Mingora, the main town of Swat valley, Tuesday, Oct. 27, 2015. Officials say rescuers are struggling to reach quake-stricken regions in Pakistan and Afghanistan. (AP Photo/Naveed Ali) (The Associated Press)

Afghan men carry their belongings after an earthquake in Takhar province, northeast of Kabul, Afghanistan, Tuesday, Oct. 27, 2015. Rescuers were struggling to reach quake-stricken regions in Pakistan and Afghanistan on Tuesday as officials said the combined death toll from the previous day's earthquake rose to more than 300. (AP Photo/Zalmai Ashna) (The Associated Press)

Officials say rescuers are struggling to reach quake-stricken regions in Pakistan and Afghanistan as the combined death toll from the previous day's earthquake rose to 311.

According to Afghan and Pakistani officials, 237 people died in Pakistan and 74 in Afghanistan in the magnitude-7.5 quake, which was centered deep beneath the Hindu Kush mountains in Afghanistan's sparsely populated Badakhshan province bordering Pakistan, Tajikistan and China.

Wais Ahmad Barmak, the Afghan minister for disaster management says 266 people were also injured in Afghanistan.

In Pakistan, authorities say they are struggling to reach remote mountainous quake-affected areas.

The army used helicopters Tuesday to transport supplies to the victims and military engineers were trying to restore communication lines disrupted by landslides triggered by the quake. Thousands of homes have also been damaged.