Thousands die in huge quake

From correspondents in Islamabad
October 09, 2005

AN earthquake measuring at least 7.6 on the Richter Scale caused massive devastation today across a swathe of Pakistan, India and Afghanistan, with thousands of people feared dead.

The quake struck close to the dividing line between the Indian and Pakistani controlled zones of the disputed Himalayan region of Kashmir, triggering deadly landslides that wiped out whole villages.
The quake sent people fleeing their homes in areas over 1,000 km apart, from the western Pakistani desert city of Quetta to Kunduz in the mountains of northern Afghanistan.

"This is the strongest quake in the last 100 years in this region," the chief of Pakistan's meteorological department, Qamar Uzzman, told AFP.

Pakistani officials described scenes of "massive devastation" and warned of heavy loss of life, especially in the mountains of Kashmir where communications were cut off.

Pakistani and Indian officials confirmed more than 1,000 deaths, but Pakistani military spokesman Major General Shaukat Sultan told AFP the toll would rise dramatically.

"The death toll could be in the thousands. The devastation is massive," Sultan said.
In Pakistan's North West Frontier Province alone, more than 550 people were killed, said Riffat Pasha, the provincial head of police.

"The death toll is between 550 and 600 in North West Frontier Province and it is likely to rise," he said.

At least 250 people were confirmed dead in Muzaffarabad, the main town of 125,000 people in Pakistani-controlled Kashmir. The military said over 50 per cent of the buildings in the town had been destroyed or damaged.

General Sultan said several villages in Kashmir had been totally "wiped out" and that troops and helicopters had been scrambled to reach the stricken areas.

"Village after village has been wiped out," an army relief official in Muzaffarabad said. "The Neelum River has been blocked because whole villages have fallen into the water."

Indian officials meanwhile said at least 178 people including 21 soldiers had been killed and 300 injured in the Indian-controlled zone of Kashmir.

Indian army spokesman P Sehgal said many soldiers died when their positions caved in along the Line of Control, the heavily-militarised de facto border which divides Kashmir's Indian and Pakistani zones.

The quake also brought down buildings in the Pakistani capital Islamabad, including the 10-storey Margalla Towers where rescuers used bare hands to claw through rubble to reach blood-stained people trapped under huge stone slabs.

"We saw people rushing to a balcony on the other building, but while it was still rocking it crashed down and the occupants came down with the mass of the concrete," said local resident Sajida Burki.

"There were screams of women and children. Many are still trapped inside and we can hear cries. It's a tragic scene," Burki said.

Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf visited the scene and said the disaster was a test for the nation.

"In the overall context it is a test for all of us ... the entire nation, and we are sure we will qualify this test," he said.

The US Geological Survey and the Pakistan Meteorological Department said the quake measured 7.6 on the Richter scale and struck at 0350 GMT (1350 AEST). The Japanese Meteorological Agency put the quake even higher at 7.8.

The epicentre was around 100 km north-east of Islamabad, according to most agencies, although the Earth Sciences Observatory in the French city of Strasbourg said it was just inside Indian Kashmir.

The divided territory of Kashmir is claimed in full by both India and Pakistan. Thousands of troops face off on each side of the Line of Control and the two countries have fought two wars over the territory.

In Islamabad, in the first minutes after the earthquake struck, thousands of people fled their houses and sought the relative safety of the city's broad tree-lined avenues.

The ground shook for over 30 seconds, rocking buildings and making it almost impossible to walk without falling over. At least 14 aftershocks, including one measuring more than 6.0 on the Richter scale, rattled Islamabad in the hours after the quake, according to the meteorological department.

All along the main roads, terrified people were sitting or lying down, sobbing or looking confused. Many mosques started reciting special prayers.

The quake was also felt strongly in Indian Kashmir, causing panic and bringing people pouring out onto the streets of the summer capital Srinagar.

"This is the strongest earthquake I have ever witnessed in my life," said Aisha Begum, 84.

Screams were heard from across Srinagar as people fled homes, shops and offices, fearing they would be buried under rubble.

Men spontaneously started reading aloud verses from the Muslim holy book, the Koran, and women beat their chests in a display of bereavement.

Doctors at Srinagar's main hospital said more than 200 people were admitted with injuries and shock, while more than 100 people were being treated at an army hospital in the northern town of Uri alone.

The disputed Kashmir region is an area of high seismic activity that lies in the collision zone of the Eurasian and Indian tectonic plates.

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