Rescue efforts expanded after Afghanistan-Pakistan quake

Rescue efforts are being stepped up to help those affected by the magnitude-7.5 earthquake which hit remote areas of Afghanistan and Pakistan on Monday.

At least 300 people are known to have died, and about 2,000 were injured.

Rescue teams have been sent to remote mountainous areas where the effects of the quake are still unclear.

The quake's focus was deep, reducing its impact. Victims included 12 Afghan schoolgirls killed in a stampede as they tried to leave their classes.

Reports said many people across the region, afraid of a new quake, spent the night sleeping outside in temperatures close to freezing.

Afghan President Ashraf Ghani, in a televised address, urged those living in affected areas to help the rescue effort.

Most of the fatalities so far reported are in northern Pakistan and in the north-western tribal areas, with at least 228 known casualties.

In Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province alone, authorities said at least 179 people were known to have died, and more than 1,800 were injured.

The Pakistan Red Crescent tweeted that its disaster response team had been dispatched to the affected areas.

Pakistan's information minister said the top priority was to save lives, and the rescue operation would continue "round the clock", state media reported.