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Over 2,000 dead, some 9,000 injured in western Afghanistan’s powerful earthquake

About six villages have been destroyed, and hundreds of civilians have been buried under the debris

© EPA-EFE/STRINGER

DUBAI, October 8. /TASS/. Over 2,000 people dead and more than 9,000 were injured in a devastating earthquake and following aftershocks in western Afghanistan, Reuters news agency reported on Sunday citing an official with the local emergencies service.

According to the agency, "Mullah Janan Sayeeq, spokesman for the Ministry of Disasters, told Reuters 2,053 people were dead, 9,240 injured and 1,329 houses damaged or destroyed."

The Associated Press reported earlier referring to Abdul Wahid Rayan, a spokesman at the Ministry of Information and Culture, that "the death toll from the earthquake in Herat is higher than originally reported. About six villages have been destroyed, and hundreds of civilians have been buried under the debris."

The AFP news agency stated earlier in the day quoting Bilal Karimi, a deputy spokesman for Taliban (outlawed in Russia), that over 1,000 people were killed in the deadly quake.

The European Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC) announced on October 7 that a magnitude 6.2 earthquake rocked the west of Afghanistan. The epicenter was located 42 kilometers (over 26 miles) to the northwest of the city of Herat, which has a population of some 272,000. A series of aftershocks were reported later following the powerful earthquake.

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