KABUL (Pajhwok): One hundred bodies and 500 wounded people have been evacuated from earthquake hit areas of western Herat province, Defense Ministry officials said on Saturday.
The quake truck Zinda Jan and Ghorian districts of Herat province yesterday. The jolts were also felt in some areas of western Ghor and Badghis provinces, but did not cause any damage there.
The Ministry of Mines and Petroleum (MoMP) said the magnitude 6.1 earthquake was followed by five aftershocks, inflicting heavy human and financial losses on residents.
Enayatullah Khawarazmi, the Defence Ministry spokesman, tweeted last night rescue teams of the ministry had rushed to Herat to help the victims.
Khawarazmi wrote the MoD had mobilised infantry and airpower from Al Farooq 207th Corps for rescuing people from the rubble. So far, over one hundred dead bodies had been recovered, he said.
He added rescue teams had also evacuated about 500 wounded people by helicopter to the Regional Hospital in Herat City and Kabul.
The spokesman said the rescue operation was still in progress.
Maulvi Musa Ashari, the Disaster Management Authority head, told Pajhwok Afghan News the earthquake had razed 12 villages and wounded 600 people in Zinda Jan and Ghorian districts.
But the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs put the toll at 100 dead and over 500 injured.
OCHA officials received information about the death of 320 people. They are currently evaluating reports regarding casualties.
Some video clips shared on social media show residents of affected areas saying several villages had been destroyed and thousands of individuals might have been killed.
Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, deputy prime minister for economic affairs, instructed the Disaster Management Authority and other agencies to reach the affected areas as soon as possible and use all available resources to assist the victims.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) wrote on its X handle that it had sent medicine and medical supplies to Herat hospitals for the treatment of the injured. It promised providing further necessary assistance.
aw/mud
