'Quake death toll 30 000'

2005-10-10 12:23

Islamabad - An estimated 30 000 people were killed in Pakistan-controlled Kashmir by a massive earthquake, the region's minister for works and communication Tariq Farooq told AFP Sunday.

"Our rough estimates say more than 30 000 people have died in the earthquake in Kashmir," he said. Pakistan's military said earlier that at least 18 000 died in the 7.6 magnitude quake that hit on Saturday.

"There are cities, there are towns which have been completely destroyed. Muzaffarabad is devastated," he added, referring to the capital of Pakistan's sector of disputed Kashmir.

- AFP