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Sunny skies speed relief effort

Pakistani and US military helicopters delivered aid at a brisk pace to the earthquake-stricken region of Kashmir yesterday, as relief workers rushed to set up field hospitals to treat thousands of stranded, injured people who have yet to receive any care.

Choppers landed under sunny skies in Muzaffarabad, the capital of Pakistan's portion of the divided Kashmir region, bringing tents and other supplies.

Heavy rains on Sunday grounded many relief flights.

Authorities warned that exposure and infections could drive the death toll up from 54,000 as the harsh Himalayan winter loomed. Landslides caused by the 7.6-magnitude earthquake on Oct. 8 cut off many roads, and they could take weeks to clear.

Major Farooq Nasir, an army spokesman, said that smaller helicopters would take relief goods brought by big choppers to forward bases in the Neelum and Jhelum valleys on to remote mountain villages.

The UN said that more than 80 helicopters were flying, and that the world body was planning to send up to 150,000 tents for the homeless, in addition to about 30,000 already distributed.

It said field hospitals with operating theaters were being set up, improving the survival chances for those requiring urgent surgery, but that the large numbers of patients was still "overwhelming."

Most of the deaths were in Pakistani-controlled Kashmir, while 1,360 people died in the Indian-held part of the divided region.

Minister killed

In Indian-held Kashmir yesterday conflict continued, with suspected Islamic militants killing the state's education minister during a raid on a high-security neighborhood that also left at least three others dead.

Soldiers were exchanging fire with militants holed up at the home of the minister, Ghulam Nabi Lone, police said.

The attack came despite an order from the United Jihad Council, an umbrella organization of militant groups, to suspend attacks after the quake.

India has provided some aid to Pakistan, but turned down a Pakistani suggestion that it send military helicopters -- without crews -- to help with relief work. Pakistan, which has fought two of its three wars with India over Kashmir, said it could not have the Indian military involved directly in relief efforts.

Aftershocks continued shaking the region, though no further damage was reported, Pakistan's seismological center in Peshawar said yesterday. There have been more than 700 aftershocks since the quake.

Some 80,000 people were injured in the quake. The UN has estimated 3.3 million were left without homes and need food and shelter ahead of the approaching winter, with snow already falling in some affected areas.

More tents

Major General Farooq Ahmed Khan, Pakistan's top relief official, said 33,000 tents and 130,000 blankets have been distributed to quake survivors. He said 260,000 tents and 2 million blankets were needed.

Eighty Pakistani soldiers were flown by helicopter into the Neelum Valley, about 25km northeast of Muzaffarabad, to carry emergency rations and other relief supplies on foot to those in need, the army said.

Soldiers were also driving mule teams with relief supplies to some of the region's steep-sided villages, crossing paths with people carrying bundles on their shoulders carefully walking down to lower elevations.
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