Finland condoles at earthquake victims in Afghanistan

Foreign Minister Elina Valtonen on Sunday expressed condolence at the deaths of people in earthquakes in Afghanistan, said the Ministry for Foreign Affairs in a twitter post.

“We are deeply saddened about the devastating earthquakes in Afghanistan killing and injuring hundreds of people and causing extensive damage. Our thoughts are with the affected communities. Speedy humanitarian efforts are of the greatest urgence and importance,” the ministry wrote in its twitter, quoting Valtonen as saying.

The death toll of several earthquakes in western Afghanistan has risen to 2,053, spokesman for the national disaster authority Mullah Janan Shaeq said Sunday, reported Xinhua.

Addressing a press conference in Herat, the official noted that 9,240 others were injured and 1,340 houses were destroyed in the earthquakes that shook Herat and the neighboring Badghis and Farah provinces on Saturday.