Post by musicradio77 on Oct 9, 2005 22:44:36 GMT -5
400 children killed in two Pakistan schools
By BILL HUTCHINSON
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER
More than 18,000 people were killed in a massive earthquake that rocked Pakistan, India and Afghanistan yesterday, flattening villages and triggering a frantic scramble to rescue survivors.
The death toll was initially put at 3,000 but skyrocketed as rescuers discovered huge swaths of devastation in the mountains of Pakistani Kashmir. Officials said at least 40,000 people were injured and warned that the staggering body count could still rise.
The quake - measured at a magnitude of 7.6 - was centered 60 miles from Pakistan's capital of Islamabad, near the Pakistani-Indian border.
"When the earthquake came, it was like Judgment Day," said Pakistani villager Fazal Elahi, whose wife, daughter and brother were killed.
The grimmest discoveries early on were at two schools in northwestern Pakistan, where 400 children were crushed to death by walls that caved in.
At least 200 Pakistani soldiers in the Kashmir area were killed, some when their bunker was hit by a landslide.
At least 18 aftershocks, some as strong as 6.3 in magnitude, were recorded. Several killer avalanches were triggered by the powerful jolt, which struck about 9 a.m. local time. "The damage and casualties could be massive, and it is a national tragedy," said Pakistan's chief army spokesman, Maj. Gen. Shaukat Sultan.
Landslides and heavy rain complicated the rescue mission. Some hospitals were so damaged doctors treated victims in the streets.
In Islamabad, rescuers used their hands to dig through the blood-spattered rubble of at least 10 apartment towers that collapsed, trapping hundreds of people, officials said. Rescuers reported hearing the screams of women and children buried in the debris.
"It was like hell," said Nauman Ali, who lived in a top-floor apartment nearby. "It was terrible. I was tossed up in my bed."
One army officer searching the ruins described finding "mutilated bodies."
"I've seen people alive but crushed," he said, adding that some victims had to have their legs amputated to be freed.
Pakistani President Gen. Pervez Musharraf was marshaling military and civilian forces to search for survivors.
"This is a test for all of us, the entire nation," a grim-faced Musharraf said.
Musharraf also accepted help from neighboring India. The two nations have fought several wars, although relations have improved the past few years.
U.S. military spokesman Lt. Col. Jerry O'Hara said the quake was felt 400 miles away at Bagram, the main American base in Afghanistan, but there were no reports of U.S. deaths. About 18,000 U.S. troops are in Afghanistan.
In the Kashmir area on the Indian-Pakistani border, some mud-hut villages were completely destroyed.
Officials said at least 250 people were killed in the Indian-controlled area of Kashmir and at least 17,000 died in the area controlled by Pakistan.
Pledges of assistance came from around the world. "At this difficult time, the United States stands with its friends in Pakistan and India, just as they stood with us and offered assistance after Hurricane Katrina," said U.S. Secretary of State Rice.
By BILL HUTCHINSON
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER
More than 18,000 people were killed in a massive earthquake that rocked Pakistan, India and Afghanistan yesterday, flattening villages and triggering a frantic scramble to rescue survivors.
The death toll was initially put at 3,000 but skyrocketed as rescuers discovered huge swaths of devastation in the mountains of Pakistani Kashmir. Officials said at least 40,000 people were injured and warned that the staggering body count could still rise.
The quake - measured at a magnitude of 7.6 - was centered 60 miles from Pakistan's capital of Islamabad, near the Pakistani-Indian border.
"When the earthquake came, it was like Judgment Day," said Pakistani villager Fazal Elahi, whose wife, daughter and brother were killed.
The grimmest discoveries early on were at two schools in northwestern Pakistan, where 400 children were crushed to death by walls that caved in.
At least 200 Pakistani soldiers in the Kashmir area were killed, some when their bunker was hit by a landslide.
At least 18 aftershocks, some as strong as 6.3 in magnitude, were recorded. Several killer avalanches were triggered by the powerful jolt, which struck about 9 a.m. local time. "The damage and casualties could be massive, and it is a national tragedy," said Pakistan's chief army spokesman, Maj. Gen. Shaukat Sultan.
Landslides and heavy rain complicated the rescue mission. Some hospitals were so damaged doctors treated victims in the streets.
In Islamabad, rescuers used their hands to dig through the blood-spattered rubble of at least 10 apartment towers that collapsed, trapping hundreds of people, officials said. Rescuers reported hearing the screams of women and children buried in the debris.
"It was like hell," said Nauman Ali, who lived in a top-floor apartment nearby. "It was terrible. I was tossed up in my bed."
One army officer searching the ruins described finding "mutilated bodies."
"I've seen people alive but crushed," he said, adding that some victims had to have their legs amputated to be freed.
Pakistani President Gen. Pervez Musharraf was marshaling military and civilian forces to search for survivors.
"This is a test for all of us, the entire nation," a grim-faced Musharraf said.
Musharraf also accepted help from neighboring India. The two nations have fought several wars, although relations have improved the past few years.
U.S. military spokesman Lt. Col. Jerry O'Hara said the quake was felt 400 miles away at Bagram, the main American base in Afghanistan, but there were no reports of U.S. deaths. About 18,000 U.S. troops are in Afghanistan.
In the Kashmir area on the Indian-Pakistani border, some mud-hut villages were completely destroyed.
Officials said at least 250 people were killed in the Indian-controlled area of Kashmir and at least 17,000 died in the area controlled by Pakistan.
Pledges of assistance came from around the world. "At this difficult time, the United States stands with its friends in Pakistan and India, just as they stood with us and offered assistance after Hurricane Katrina," said U.S. Secretary of State Rice.