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Rescuers dig through slides after earthquake
Source: Agencies |
September 20, 2011, Tuesday
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RESCUERS dug through mudslides on roads to isolated Himalayan villages yesterday in search of survivors after a 6.9 magnitude earthquake killed 63 people in India, Nepal and the China's Tibet Autonomous Region.
Soldiers and police pulled victims from rubble as night closed in and the number of victims climbed to 35 in the "Shangri-la" northeastern Indian state of Sikkim, the epicenter of Sunday night's quake felt more than kilometers away in Delhi.
Air Force helicopters took supplies to affected areas, ringed by some of the world's highest peaks. Some mountain passes blocked by landslides were reopened and planes made food airdrops.
Deepak Pandey, spokesman for the border police, said: "The earthquake has loosened the hill-faces, and when it rains, it causes landslides. So the situation is still very dangerous. We have rescued more than 400 people since last night."
The rugged north of the state at the edge of the Tibetan plateau was worst hit. It may take days for the final number of casualties to be confirmed but border police said they do not think the death toll will be on a massive scale.
At least seven people died in Bihar state, south of -Sikkim, while six died in the Indian state of West Bengal.
People in Sikkim's main city, Gangtok, sat on roadsides under umbrellas in the heavy rain and prepared for another chilly night, reluctant to go home for fear of aftershocks.
Sushma Sharma, mother of three children in Gangtok, said: "We are scared of another earthquake like last night. We have no place to stay, our house is damaged, and we can only pray to God now."
It has been raining for four straight days in parts of Sikkim. The temperature in the quake zone is about eight degrees Celsius and will drop overnight.
"Let us pray that the weather gets better," said army spokesman Om Singh.
Shops, businesses and offices were closed in Gangtok and neighboring areas, a resident said. Many towns remained without electricity. Water supplies were scarce because of burst pipes, and telephone communication was patchy.
The quake was felt in five countries, including China, Bangladesh and the Buddhist kingdom Bhutan.
Outside India, at least eight people died in Nepal, three of them when a wall at the British Embassy in Kathmandu collapsed on a car and a motorcycle.
Seven died, 24 were injured and hundreds were made homeless in China's Tibet.
More than a thousand Chinese soldiers were sent to help rescue efforts near the border, Xinhua news agency reported.
The earthquake caused hundreds of landslides that have disrupted traffic and snarled power and water supply lines in Tibet's Yadong County, which borders Sikkim.
Soldiers and police pulled victims from rubble as night closed in and the number of victims climbed to 35 in the "Shangri-la" northeastern Indian state of Sikkim, the epicenter of Sunday night's quake felt more than kilometers away in Delhi.
Air Force helicopters took supplies to affected areas, ringed by some of the world's highest peaks. Some mountain passes blocked by landslides were reopened and planes made food airdrops.
Deepak Pandey, spokesman for the border police, said: "The earthquake has loosened the hill-faces, and when it rains, it causes landslides. So the situation is still very dangerous. We have rescued more than 400 people since last night."
The rugged north of the state at the edge of the Tibetan plateau was worst hit. It may take days for the final number of casualties to be confirmed but border police said they do not think the death toll will be on a massive scale.
At least seven people died in Bihar state, south of -Sikkim, while six died in the Indian state of West Bengal.
People in Sikkim's main city, Gangtok, sat on roadsides under umbrellas in the heavy rain and prepared for another chilly night, reluctant to go home for fear of aftershocks.
Sushma Sharma, mother of three children in Gangtok, said: "We are scared of another earthquake like last night. We have no place to stay, our house is damaged, and we can only pray to God now."
It has been raining for four straight days in parts of Sikkim. The temperature in the quake zone is about eight degrees Celsius and will drop overnight.
"Let us pray that the weather gets better," said army spokesman Om Singh.
Shops, businesses and offices were closed in Gangtok and neighboring areas, a resident said. Many towns remained without electricity. Water supplies were scarce because of burst pipes, and telephone communication was patchy.
The quake was felt in five countries, including China, Bangladesh and the Buddhist kingdom Bhutan.
Outside India, at least eight people died in Nepal, three of them when a wall at the British Embassy in Kathmandu collapsed on a car and a motorcycle.
Seven died, 24 were injured and hundreds were made homeless in China's Tibet.
More than a thousand Chinese soldiers were sent to help rescue efforts near the border, Xinhua news agency reported.
The earthquake caused hundreds of landslides that have disrupted traffic and snarled power and water supply lines in Tibet's Yadong County, which borders Sikkim.
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