UAE expresses solidarity with Afghan people and offers condolences over earthquake victims

The UAE has expressed its sincere condolences and solidarity with the Afghan people over the victims of the earthquake that occurred northwest of Herat, which resulted in deaths and injuries to thousands of people.

In a statement, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) expressed its sincere condolences and sympathy to the people of Afghanistan and to the families of the victims in this tragedy, as well as its wishes for a speedy recovery for the injured.

The death toll from a series of earthquakes in western Afghanistan rose sharply again on Sunday to more than 2,000, with nearly 10,000 injured, as rescue workers dug through razed villages for vanishing signs of life, AFP reported.

More than 1,300 homes were toppled when Saturday's magnitude 6.3 quake — followed by eight strong aftershocks — jolted hard-to-reach areas 30 kilometres  northwest of the provincial capital of Herat, according to officials.

In rural Zinda Jan district, dozens of households were reduced to jumbles of broken masonry, where makeshift rescue teams dug trenches in the hope of unearthing survivors.

WAM