The death toll from a series of earthquakes in western Afghanistan rose sharply on Sunday to more than 2,000, the Taliban government said, as bodies continued to be pulled from demolished villages and buried in mass graves.
Aid gradually trickled into the disaster zone including food, water, tents and coffins for the dead who were pulled from the rubble by excavators and men with pickaxes and shovels. "For the treatment of the victims of the incident we are doing our best," he told reporters in Kabul. "On-site search operations in the affected area are ongoing."
Gutted homes showed personal belongings flapping in the harsh wind, as women and children lingered out in the open."Those who were inside the houses were buried," he said. "There are families we have heard no news from.""We came home and saw that actually there was nothing left. Everything had turned to sand," said the 32-year-old, adding that around 30 bodies had been recovered.
In Herat city, residents fled their homes and schools, while hospitals and offices evacuated when the first quake was felt. There were few reports of casualties in the metropolitan area.