A government spokesman claimed Sunday that the death toll from a series of earthquakes in remote western Afghanistan had risen drastically to more than 1,000.
“Unfortunately, the casualties are practically very high… the death toll is more than one thousand people”, Bilal Karimi said of Saturday’s magnitude 6.3 earthquake in Herat province, which was followed by a series of violent aftershocks.
Desperate rescuers scoured the night for survivors of an earthquake that devastated homes.
The quake and its eight powerful aftershocks shook areas 30 kilometers (19 miles) northwest of Herat, toppling swaths of rural dwellings and sending scared city people onto the streets.
According to a representative for the National Disaster Administration, the death toll is expected to rise very high.
Also read: A 6.3 Magnitude Earthquake Hits Afghanistan, Leaves 14 Dead, 78 Injured
