Pakistan Quake Aid Hurt by Rains; Helicopter Crashes (Update2)
Oct. 16 (Bloomberg) -- Rains in northern Pakistan today hampered relief efforts for victims of the Oct. 8 earthquake that killed at least 39,000 people, as a military helicopter crash in Kashmir killed six people.
The United Nations World Food Program's operations to airlift food to earthquake victims in remote areas were halted as rains and poor visibility prevented helicopters from taking off, said Amjad Jamal, a spokesman for the agency in Islamabad.
``Our helicopters cannot operate as visibility is zero, and we're also having problems delivering food by roads as they have been completely washed out,'' Jamal said today in a telephone interview. ``As soon as the weather is fine and we are given the go-ahead to use helicopters, we won't take a minute more than necessary to move.''
Meteorologists are forecasting ``intermittent rain'' in the quake-hit areas until 10 a.m. tomorrow, said Muhammad Saeed, deputy director of the meteorological office in Islamabad. Visibility at about 2 kilometers (1.2 miles) is ``poor,'' and is expected to improve to about 6 kilometers tomorrow, he said.
The magnitude 7.6 temblor last week is estimated to have killed 39,400 people, injured 65,000 and left 3.3 million homeless, Major General Farooq Javed said at a press conference in Islamabad today.
The army today found the wreckage of a Pakistan M-17 army helicopter missing since yesterday while dispatching relief goods in affected areas, government spokesman Major General Shaukat Sultan said in an interview.
Lost Contact
''It is unclear whether the helicopter crashed because of technical fault or due to weather,'' he said. An ``investigation has begun.''
The Civil Aviation Authority said that the helicopter, which flew to Muzaffarabad with relief goods, had lost contact with the control room yesterday, prompting a search.
Relief agencies are shifting their focus from finding survivors amid the rubble to bringing aid to those made homeless by the quake, UN relief officials have said.
The World Food Program has eight helicopters to carry out food-drop operations, and that is expected to increase to 12 tomorrow, Jamal said. They have also deployed trucks to villages to distribute food, he said.
Donkeys, Horses
``We have sent smaller 1-ton vehicles to carry the food, as the 15-ton trucks were unable to move in smaller villages that were accessible,'' Jamal said. ``We plan to have animals such as donkeys or horses to help transport the food later.''
The death toll from the earthquake is expected to increase as rescue operations reach more areas, Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf said yesterday.
``When we go into villages of the Neelum and Jhelum river valleys, I am reasonably sure it is going to rise,'' he told reporters.
Infrastructure losses from the quake are estimated at $5 billion, and the country may take about five years to rebuild the areas damaged by the disaster, Pakistan's Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz said yesterday.
''Initial estimates indicate Pakistan will require $5 billion for reconstruction and rehabilitation work in Azad Kashmir, the worst affected area, and North West Frontier Province,'' Aziz told reporters in Islamabad.
The nation has received $530 million in pledges for aid and other quake-related efforts, Major General Javed said.
The government has distributed 18,000 tents and 110,000 blankets, while other organizations have sent 300,000 blankets.
Victims need tents, blankets and medicines as the winter begins in the quake-hit areas, with the first snowfall occurring in the last 48 hours, Aziz said yesterday.