A spokesperson for the Taliban government in Afghanistan has said that powerful earthquakes that hit the Western part of the country killed at least 2,000 people.

The spokesperson who said this on Sunday described the earthquakes as some of the deadliest ones to strike the country in two decades.

AP reports that a spokesperson for the country’s national disaster management authority said the magnitude-6.3 earthquake was followed by strong aftershocks on Saturday.

It was reported that the United States Geological Survey said the earthquakes’ epicenter was about 40 km (25 miles) Northwest of Herat City, and it was followed by three very strong aftershocks, measuring magnitude 6.3, 5.9 and 5.5, as well as lesser shocks.

People attempted to dig out the dead and injured victims with their hands in Herat, clambering over rocks and debris on Sunday morning, as survivors and victims were trapped under buildings that had crumbled to the ground with their faces grey with dust.

AP reports that one video shared online showed people freeing a baby girl from a collapsed building after being buried up to her neck in debris. A hand is seen cradling the baby’s torso as rescuers ease the child out of the ground. Rescuers said it was the baby’s mother. It is not clear if the mother survived.

A spokesman at the Ministry of Information and Culture, Abdul Wahid Rayan, on Sunday, said that the death toll is higher than originally reported, noting that villages have been destroyed and that hundreds of civilians are buried under the debris.

Rayan, who called for urgent help said, “Besides the 2,060 dead, 1,240 people are injured and 1,320 houses are completely destroyed.”

At least a dozen teams have been scrambled to help with rescue efforts, including from the military and nonprofit organizations like the Red Crescent.

The United Nations migration agency has deployed four ambulances with doctors and psychosocial support counselors to the regional hospital. At least three mobile health teams are on their way to the Zenda Jan district, which is one of the worst affected areas.

Doctors Without Borders set up five medical tents at Herat Regional Hospital to accommodate up to 80 patients. Authorities have treated more than 300 patients, according to the agency.

A spokesman for the Afghan Red Crescent Society, Irfanullah Sharafzai, said that seven teams were busy with rescue efforts while other teams were arriving from eight nearby provinces.

Neighbouring Pakistan said it was deeply saddened by the earthquake, and the Foreign Affairs Ministry said, “We are in contact with the Afghan authorities to get a first-hand assessment of the urgent needs of those affected by the earthquake,” adding that “Pakistan will extend all possible support to the recovery effort.”

Also, China’s ambassador to Afghanistan, Zhao Xing, said that his government and the country’s charitable institutions were ready to provide all kinds of help.

Xing said, “We are in contact with Afghan government aid agencies to provide aid to the needy.”

Also reacting to the incident, Afghan cricket star, Rashid Khan, said he was donating all his Cricket World Cup fees to help Herat’s earthquake survivors.

Japan’s ambassador to Afghanistan, Takashi Okada, expressed his condolences saying that he was “deeply grieved and saddened to learn the news of the earthquakes in Herat province.”

Recall that in June 2022, a powerful earthquake struck a rugged, mountainous region of eastern Afghanistan, flattening stone and mud-brick homes. The quake killed at least 1,000 people and injured about 1,500