At least 80 people are feared dead after an earthquake-triggered landslide buried more than 20 houses in northern Afghanistan’s Baghlan province, officials said.

The governor of Baghlan province said on Tuesday 22 homes were buried but the bodies of only two women had been recovered. Twenty people were in hospital with injuries.

"We don't think we will be able to take out the other bodies," Governor Abdul Majid said.

A rescue team only had one bulldozer to try to clear the rubble, he said.

"We will hold a prayer for the victims."

The UN said in a statement that it was working with local authorities to try to help in the rescue effort.

Two quakes with magnitudes of 5.4 and 5.7 struck mountainous northern Afghanistan on Monday, bringing a slide of mud and rocks down on the remote settlement.

Afghanistan's north is prone to earthquakes. A 2002 quake in the same province killed more than 2,000 people.