The number of victims may still rise, as there are many collapsed buildings in the earthquake area.
At least 320 people have died in the earthquake that shook the western part of Afghanistan today, the UN says, according to the news agency AP. The magnitude of the earthquake was 6.3. The earthquake was followed by several aftershocks.
The death toll is based on the number of people brought to hospitals so far. It may rise, as people are said to have been buried under the collapsed buildings.
According to the US Geological Survey, the epicenter of the earthquake was located 40 kilometers northwest of the city of Herat. According to an AFP reporter, residents and merchants in the city fled the buildings when the earthquake struck at eleven o’clock in the morning local time.
– We were in the office, and suddenly the building started shaking. The plaster started to come off the walls, and cracks appeared in the walls. Some walls and part of the building collapsed, a local resident Bashir Ahmad45, told AFP.
– The situation was very terrible. I have never experienced anything like this, said the 21-year-old student Idrees Arsalawho was the last to escape from his school class when the earthquake hit.
Earthquakes are relatively common in Afghanistan, which is located near the intersection of the Eurasian and Indian continental plates. In June of last year, more than a thousand people were killed and tens of thousands left homeless in an earthquake in Paktika province.
The story was updated on October 7, 2023 at 7:34 p.m. The story was updated with new information.