Death toll revised to 1000 in Afghanistan earthquake

Afghan authorities on Wednesday significantly lowered the death toll from a series of quakes that struck western Herat at the weekend to around 1,000. The Taliban government had originally said over 2,000 people had been killed in Saturday’s magnitude 6.3 quake, centred on rural communities northwest of Herat city. The initial quake was followed by a series of powerful aftershocks. Public Health Minister Qalandar Ebad on Wednesday lowered the toll to around 1,000, attributing the confusion to the remoteness of the area and double reporting by agencies involved in the rescue effort. “We have over 1,000 people martyred from the first incident,” Ebad told reporters in Kabul. Another earthquake of magnitude 6.3 struck Wednesday morning in the same area, where thousands were spending a fourth night in the open. Officials said one person died and 130 were injured.