Quake toll in Pakistan rises to 18,000


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The death toll from a huge south Asia earthquake rose to 18,000 in worst-hit Pakistan alone on Sunday, as rescuers dug out hundreds of dead children buried under their schools and found villages reduced to rubble.

Teams laboured with cranes and earth-moving equipment or used their bare hands in hopes of finding survivors trapped beneath shattered masonry from Saturday's quake.

Striking out from the forest clad mountains of Pakistani Kashmir near the border with India, the quake was the strongest to hit south Asia in a century.

"When the earthquake came it was like Judgement Day," said villager Fazal Elahi, recalling the horror of houses collapsing around him as he grieved quietly next to the body of his 14-year-old daughter.

A Pakistani military official said 18,000 were dead, confirming a figure given to CNN by President Pervez Musharraf's spokesman, Major-General Shaukat Sultan.

A further 40,000 people were injured in the 7.6 magnitude quake that struck nearly 24 hours ago, Sultan said, calling it the worst devastation in Pakistan's history.

"There are many villages that have been wiped off the face of this earth," Sultan said.

Pakistan's side of Kashmir, the Himalayan region disputed with India, was expected to be worst hit.

Many areas had not been reached because landslides triggered by the quake had wiped out roads, Sultan said.

The U.S. Geological Survey said the tremor occurred at a depth of 10 km (6.2 miles). It struck about 95 km (60 miles) northeast of Islamabad and was felt across the subcontinent, shaking buildings in the Afghan, Indian and Bangladeshi capitals.

The first quake was followed over the next 18 hours by more than 20 aftershocks with magnitudes of between 4.5 and 6.3.

http://today.reuters.co.uk/news/newsArticl...UBCONTINENT.xml

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The whole world has been crazy lately, tsunamis, mud slides, cyclones, storms and earthquakes its as though its going to fall apart soon. RIP to all the people in that or any disaster.

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Kashmir has enough problems to worry about.  It's terrible that people first have to whither war, then terrorism, then natural disaster.

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I agree. The Kashmiri people didn't need this on top of everything else. And the situation in Pakistan is horrible- 30000 people dead.

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sad indeed. if the govt and ngos dont get their act together then more are going to die in freezing winter which is round the corner

update: Death toll in J&K mounts to 850

The number of those killed in Jammu and Kashmir in the earthquake has risen to between 850 and 1,000, according to latest reports quoting government sources.

The Army, which has been in the forefront of relief operations, continues to airlift relief supplies to the remote areas near the Line of Control worst hit by the earthquake.

source: http://www.ndtv.com/environment/Earthquake...=17935&callid=0

Nearly 30,000 people are feared dead in Saturday's devastating earthquake in Pakistan. ..

Large areas of Pakistan occupied Kashmir are however, still out of bounds for the rescue workers.

The harsh winter of northern Pakistan is around the corner and the big challenge is not just immediate relief, but also long term aid for thousands of people. (With PTI inputs)

http://www.ndtv.com/environment/Earthquake...=17928&callid=0

Edited by guru
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