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Frantic search for survivors
24/02/2005 13:06 - (SA)
Houtkan - About 500 people are known to have died in the Iran earthquake,
officials said on Thursday, but the toll could be higher as rescuers
continued to dig frantically through the rubble of flattened
mountain villages.
The governor of the stricken Kerman province said 490 people had
been killed and 900 injured when the 6.4 magnitude quake struck on
Tuesday, turning whole villages to rubble in mountainous regions.
"These figures are not final and are expected to increase
further," governor Mohammad Ali Karimi told public radio.
He said the search for victims was still going on in the
mountain village of Houtkan, which was completely demolished in the
temblor, the worst in Iran since the Bam earthquake of December
2003 that killed more than 30 000 people.
About 8 000 homes have been damaged or destroyed in the Zarand
region closest to the epicentre of the quake, leaving thousands
homeless as temperatures dropped below freezing and rain and snow
fell, hampering rescue efforts.
Hundreds of rescue workers and soldiers were searching through
the rubble of mud-brick buildings with their hands as blocked roads
made it impossible for heavy earthmoving equipment to reach some
villages.
But in Houtkan, two young women were pulled out alive on
Wednesday.
Another local official, Zarand governor Javad Rachidi, spoke of
500 dead and 990 injured.
President Mohammad Khatami, whose government is facing protests
from stricken villagers at the delay in aid reaching some of the
most devastated areas, said Wednesday Iran would accept
international help if offered.
"We are not calling for aid (from abroad) but we will accept it
as we did before (after the Bam disaster)," he said.
US President George W Bush, who has warned of possible military
action against Iran over its nuclear activities, was among those
offering help for quake victims.
Karimi said he was satisfied with the distribution of emergency
aid despite residents holding a number of protests to highlight
their lack of tents, blankets and food.
"Up to now about 9 400 tents, 60 000 blankets and a large
quanitity of basic supplies have been distributed," Karimi said.
"The distribution will be quicker once the weather improves,"
Houtkan and Dahuyeh were the remotest villages struck by the
quake, which left both in ruins, and among the last where search
operations were still underway on Thursday.
Villagers were buried alive in Dahuyeh's mosque.
A convoy of ambulances was seen headed out of Houtkan on
Wednesday carrying the dead to the nearby town of Zarand for the
bodies to be washed in preparation for burial, in keeping with
Muslim rites.
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