KABUL, Oct 7 (Reuters) – At least 15 people were killed and 40 injured in several earthquakes in western Afghanistan on Saturday, a disaster management official told Reuters.
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) said the quake registered 6.3 on the Richter scale, and that aftershocks occurred 35 km (20 mi) northwest of Herat.
The casualty figures are based on primary reports from Zinda Jan district of Herat province, said Mullah Jan Sheikh, a spokesman for Afghanistan’s disaster management ministry.
He said the quakes also shook Fara and Batkis provinces, where there was widespread damage to houses, but there were no immediate details of casualties.
Emergency teams and volunteers are preparing to go to Herat to help the victims, said Erbanullah Sharafzoi, a spokesman for the Afghan Red Cross.
Resident Naseema said multiple tremors caused panic in Herat.
“People have left their homes and we are all in the streets,” he wrote in a text to Reuters, adding that the city continues to feel the tremors.
Reporting by Rishabh Jaiswal in Bangalore and Mohammad Yunus Yawar in Kabul; Written by Kiban Beshimam; Edited by Edvina Gibbs and William Mallard
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