1 Dead & Over 150 Injured Transferred To Hospitals After Herat Earthquake

According to OCHA, another 485 people, including 191 men and 294 women, are missing.

According to the UN agency, six schools, three kindergartens, and two educational centres in this district were fully destroyed and eight other schools were partially damaged.

The United Nations added that 33 unaccompanied minors, 17 unaccompanied elderly, and 53 female-headed households have been identified as victims.

Meanwhile, on the third day after Herat's deadly earthquake, search operations continue among the ruins to find the missing people.

On Saturday, a 6.3 magnitude earthquake jolted Herat province.

According to the WHO official, some of the victims have been hospitalised due to severe wounds.

The Taliban government announced on Monday that at least 2,400 people died in the earthquake and more than 2,000 others had been injured.

“The earthquake happened around 11 in the morning, when men were out of the houses, so the majority of those who are injured and died are women and children who were inside the houses at the time", AbouZeid told Reuters.

He added that two-thirds of the victims with serious injuries at the hospital are children and women.

AbouZeid expressed his deep concern after witnessing the alarming number of children inside hospitals in critical condition, describing it as “devastating”.

Abouzeid emphasised that the provision of financial aid for rescue operations and support for the earthquake victims in Herat is very important, especially since the donor countries pay less attention to Afghanistan now due to crises in other parts of the world.

Foreign diplomats, officials from aid organisations, and experts have pointed out that the crises in Ukraine and the Middle East, along with the restriction on women's employment within aid organisations, have collectively led to a decrease in international aid to Afghanistan.

This WHO official stated that incidents in the Middle East have diverted attention and there was little attention toward the crisis in Afghanistan.

He added that hospitals need more equipment to treat earthquake victims.

The UK said that they were arrested on charges of violating Afghan law. However, no information has been provided regarding the identities of these released UK nationals.

Earlier this year, the British Home Office announced negotiations with the Taliban for the release of its citizens.

In a statement, the ministry urged all British citizens to comply with the anti-terrorism laws of the United Kingdom as well as the laws of their destination countries while abroad.

Since the Taliban’s takeover of power in Afghanistan, many countries have advised their citizens to avoid traveling to Afghanistan.

Several Western governments repeatedly warn their citizens that Afghanistan is known as a high-risk tourist destination due to the unstable security situation and the presence of armed warring groups.

According to reports, although the security problems caused by the Taliban have now been resolved, the threats of ISIS as well as the kidnapping and arrest of foreign citizens are still high.

During a press conference in Kabul, officials of the ministry said that 1,983 houses in 20 villages of Herat were "completely" destroyed.

Once again, the Taliban did not separate the number of dead and injured.

Taliban’s Disaster Management Ministry in a statement also said that 35 national and international search and rescue teams with 1,000 personnel are present at the earthquake-affected sites.

The group added that a delegation representing Hibatullah Akhundzada, the Taliban’s leader, also went to Herat and promised assistance to the victims of the earthquake.

The Taliban said that the rescue operations are still ongoing.

According to the Taliban, Iranian technical teams have also reached the earthquake-affected areas.

According to the statement, China, Japan, Iran, Pakistan, the European Union, and the World Health Organisation have pledged financial, food, and medical aid to the victims of the earthquake. The Taliban said that Iran and Turkey's aid had already reached Herat.

As per the statement, residents of Khost, Kandahar, Paktia, Nimroz, Nangarhar, Wardak, and Farah provinces have expressed their intention to provide financial contributions, as well as donations of food and non-food items to support Herat.

The Taliban also stated that several charity institutions, businessmen, and several Pakistani personalities have donated about 32.35 million Afs for the victims.

According to the statement, 100 million Afs was also donated by the Taliban Prime Minister's Office. Azizi Foundation has also allocated 300 million Afghanis to help the victims of the earthquake.

According to the ministry’s statement on Monday, these bodies had been taken out from under the rubble.

The Ministry of Defence of the Taliban also announced that a team from this ministry has started surgical and orthopaedic operations of the earthquake victims.

According to reports, at least twelve villages had been destroyed due to the Herat earthquake.

The exact number of victims is not yet known. The Taliban announced the death toll of more than 2,000 people, but later corrected it and said that the total number of dead and wounded reached 2,053.

However, the Taliban ministry has not given the exact number of dead and wounded from the earthquake.

On Saturday, an earthquake of 6.3 magnitude shook the northwest of Afghanistan. Zindajan district of Herat province was the epicentre of this earthquake.

Another earthquake with a magnitude of 4.9 on the Richter scale, once again jolted western Afghanistan on Monday morning.

The US Geological Survey reported that the epicentre of the recent earthquake was the village of Qarabagh in the center of Gulran district of Herat province.