Afghan quake toll rises to 2,000 people: Taliban officials

Taliban officials call for urgent help as rescues try to recover people trapped in debris in the wake of magnitude 6.3 earthquake in Herat province.

The death toll from powerful earthquakes in western Afghanistan is estimated to be 2,000 people, a senior Taliban leader has said, adding that the toll might go up in one of the deadliest quakes to hit the country in two decades.

Suhail Shaheen, the Taliban spokesperson based in Qatar, told Al Jazeera that many people are missing and rescue personnel are struggling to recover people trapped in debris in the wake of magnitude 6.3 earthquake in Herat province.

Shaheen said that there is an urgent need for tents, medical and food items in the areas hit by the disaster, as he appealed local businessmen and NGOs to come forward to help people in need.

Earlier, Abdul Wahid Rayan, spokesman at the Ministry of Information and Culture, told Associated Press that more than 2,000 people were dead in the quake and strong aftershocks. About six villages have been destroyed, and hundreds of civilians have been buried under the debris, he said while calling for urgent help.

The country’s national disaster authority said on Saturday that the earthquake killed about 100 people.

The United Nations late on Saturday gave a preliminary figure of 320 dead, but later said the figure was still being verified, while the Red Crescent said 500 people were killed.

The multiple quakes on Saturday hit 40 km (24 miles) northwest of the city of Herat at about 11am on Saturday (06:30 GMT), with one measuring magnitude 6.3, the US Geological Survey (USGS) said. Strong aftershocks were felt in the neighbouring Badghis and Farah provinces.

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