Strong quake in west Afghanistan kills 'about 120,' injures 1,000

The death toll from an earthquake in western Afghanistan on Saturday has risen to around 120 with 1,000 more injured, disaster relief authorities said, as desperate families dug into the night to free relatives trapped in the rubble.

The United Nations gave a preliminary figure of 320 dead, but later said the figure was still being verified.

Local authorities gave an estimate of 100 people killed and 500 injured, according to the same update from the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.

"So far, more than 1,000 injured women, children, and old citizens have been included in our records, and about 120 people have lost their lives," Herat province disaster management head Mosa Ashari told reporters.

Mohammad Abdullah Jan said four villages in the Zenda Jan district in Herat province bore the brunt of the quakes and aftershocks. Dozens of houses have been damaged.

The United States Geological Survey reported the 6.3 magnitude tremors.

It said the epicenter was 40 kilometers northwest of Herat city. There was an aftershock with a 5.5 magnitude. A map on the USGS website indicates seven earthquakes in the area.

The World Health Organisation in Afghanistan said it dispatched 12 ambulance cars to Zenda Jan to evacuate casualties to hospitals.

"As deaths & casualties from the earthquake continue to be reported, teams are in hospitals assisting treatment of wounded & assessing additional needs,” the UN agency said on X, formerly known as Twitter.

"WHO-supported ambulances are transporting those affected, most of them women and children.”

On Saturday evening, disaster management authority spokesman Mullah Jan Sayeq told reporters that the number of fatalities was expected "to rise very high".

"There are some areas that are totally collapsed and all the houses are damaged," he said. "People are still buried under the rubble. The aid agencies are trying to reach the area."

Hundreds of fatalities were possible, according to a USGS preliminary estimate.

"Significant casualties are likely and the disaster is potentially widespread. Past events with this alert level have required a regional or national level response," it said.

Abdul Ghani Baradar, the Taliban-appointed deputy prime minister for economic affairs, expressed his condolences to the dead and injured in Herat and Badghis.

The Taliban urged local organisations to reach earthquake-hit areas as soon as possible to help take the injured to hospital, provide shelter for the homeless, and deliver food to survivors.

They said security agencies should use all their resources and facilities to rescue people trapped under debris.

"We ask our wealthy compatriots to give any possible cooperation and help to our afflicted brothers,” the Taliban said on X.

At least five powerful earthquakes struck the city around noon, Herat city resident Abdul Shakor Samadi said. "All people are out of their homes,” Samadi said.

"Houses, offices and shops are all empty and there are fears of more earthquakes. My family and I were inside our home, I felt the quake.” His family began shouting and ran outside, afraid to return indoors.

Crowds of residents fled buildings in Herat at around 11:00 am as the quakes began.

"We were in our offices and suddenly the building started shaking," 45-year-old resident Bashir Ahmad told reporter. "Wall plasters started to fall down and the walls got cracks, some walls and parts of the building collapsed," he said.

"I am not able to contact my family, network connections are disconnected. I am too worried and scared, it was horrifying."

Agence France-Presse