Up to 60 villages in the Rostaq and Chah Ab districts of the northern province of Takhar are reported to have been completely destroyed in the quake, which measured about seven points on the Richter scale.

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Relief workers for the French Organisation, Medecins Sans Frontiers say that some three thousand people were buried under the rubble, and that two hundred bodies had been dug out.

A spokesman for the anti-Taliban alliance, which controls the region where the earthquake struck, said the number of those killed could number thoushands.

The earthquake in February reduced villages to rubble

The United States geological service said the epicentre of the quake was about 70km west of the Afghan town of Feyzabad. The worst damage appears to have been in the area of Rostaq.

The area was badly hit by a quake in February, when more than 3,500 were reported killed. That earthquake measured more than 6 on the Richter scale, causing mud houses to collapse.

Relief workers are hoping that the casualty figure will not rise so high this time.

"The quake struck mid-morning and in good weather, which means not many people were in their homes and casualties are hopefully low," a UN spokesman said.

But he warned that the casualty figure could rise as news filtered in from remote villages in the area, some of which would take two days to reach.