Herat: At least 320 people were killed and over 1,000 others injured as earthquakes followed by strong aftershocks hit Afghanistan's Herat and other western provinces, according to the United Nations.
"Partners and local authorities anticipate the number of casualties to increase as search-and-rescue efforts continue amid reports that some people may be trapped under collapsed buildings," the UN said.
The tremor occurred about 40km from the western city of Herat at around 11:10 local time, forcing people to come out of their houses, locals said.
It was followed by three very strong aftershocks, measuring magnitudes 6.3, 5.9, and 5.5, as well as lesser shocks.
Mawlawi Musa Ashari, Herat's provincial director for the National Disaster Management Authority, said that the injured people were shifted to hospitals in the provincial capital Herat City, adding that 12 villages in Zinda Jan and Ghorian districts of Herat were completely destroyed in the earthquakes.
More than 465 houses had been reported destroyed and a further 135 were partially damaged.
A spokesperson of the Ministry of Disaster Management said that rescue teams have been sent to the affected areas, adding that provincial government officials have been instructed to coordinate their necessary efforts with the aid agencies to supply humanitarian assistance to the quake-affected families.
The World Health Organization (WHO) in Afghanistan also dispatched 12 ambulance cars to Zinda Jan to evacuate casualties to hospitals.
"As deaths & casualties from the earthquake continue to be reported, teams are in hospitals assisting treatment of wounded & assessing additional needs," the UN agency said on X. "WHO-supported ambulances are transporting those affected, most of them women and children," it added.
Afghanistan is prone to earthquakes, especially in the Hindu Kush mountain range, located near the convergence of the Eurasian and Indian tectonic plates.
In June last year, a powerful earthquake struck the mountainous region of eastern Afghanistan killing over 1,000 people and injuring around 1,500.