Death toll exceeds 2,000 in Afghanistan earthquake

The death toll from a series of earthquakes in Afghanistan that has hit the northwestern part of Afghanistan has passed two thousand.

Afghanistan Disaster Management Authority’s spokesperson Mullah Janan Saiq said on Sunday over 2,000 people died and more than 9,000 were injured in the earthquakes that jolted western Afghanistan a day earlier,

The spokesperson said earlier on Sunday that the death toll could further rise, adding that the tremors caused heavy damage in northwestern Herat and Badghis provinces.

“Three villages in Herat province were completely destroyed and hundreds of people are still trapped under the debris,” Saiq said.

Herat regional hospital was flooded with injured people from across Herat and nearby provinces on Saturday evening. Dozens of people were being treated outside the hospital after the 600-bed hospital reached capacity by the afternoon local time.

Telephone connections were down, causing difficulties in obtaining precise details from affected areas.

Videos posted on social media showed hundreds of people in the streets outside their homes and offices in the city.