The Afghan government on Sunday (8th) made an urgent appeal for international assistance, with more than 2,000 people now known to have died and thousands more injured in a series of strong earthquakes that struck the Herat Province of western Afghanistan the previous day, foreign media reported.

A spokesman for the Ministry of Information and Culture told the media that six villages had been completely flattened by the quake at 11:30 a.m. local time.

The United States Geological Survey said the main quake measured magnitude 6.3 and was followed by three strong aftershocks measuring 6.3, 5.9, and 5.5.

The epicentre of the main quake was 40 km northwest of Herat city which is 120 km from the border with Iran. The aftershocks were felt in the neighboring provinces of Badghis and Farah.

Rescuers were racing against time to find people buried under the rubble and UN agencies were rushing aid to the area.