Death toll from strong earthquakes that shook western Afghanistan rises to 2,000, says Taliban spokesman.
A powerful magnitude-6.3 earthquake followed by strong aftershocks killed dozens of people in western Afghanistan on Saturday, the country’s national disaster authority said.
Rescue teams worked through the night trying to find survivors trapped beneath the rubble.
Thousands of people have been injured. In a country with sorely inadequate medical facilities, hospitals are struggling to treat the injured. The UN and other organisations have begun to rush in emergency supplies.
The earthquake struck about 40km (25 miles) north-west of Herat at around 11:00 local time (06:30 GMT) on Saturday.
The worst affected communities are remote and consist of mud structures. “In the very first shake all the houses collapsed,” Herat resident Bashir Ahmad, whose family lives in the one of the villages, told AFP news agency.
“Those who were inside the houses were buried,” he added. “There are families we have heard no news from.”
