Pak quake death toll rises to 38
Rescuers battled along badly damaged roads and combed through toppled buildings yesterday to reach victims of an earthquake that killed at least 38 people and injured hundreds more in northeast Pakistan.
Authorities were still assessing the quake’s impact in villages around the city of Mirpur in Pakistan-controlled Kashmir, but in some the immediate damage was evident.
After a night of heavy rain compounded the misery of survivors, hundreds gathered to attend the funerals of residents killed near Mirpur, about 130 kilometres (80 miles) southeast of the capital, Islamabad.
“It was like doomsday for us. We lost a number of our near and dear ones,” Muhammad Azam told AFP at a funeral for a neighbour. “Our loved ones will never come back.”
The 5.2 magnitude quake was not as strong as several that have struck Pakistan over the years, but the epicentre was very shallow -- which generally causes more damage.
Near Mirpur, a well-developed city known for its palatial residences, many roads were destroyed, while bridges, mobile phone towers and electricity poles were also badly damaged.
The village of Jatlan on the outskirts of Mirpur appeared to be one of the worst affected.
There, residents sifted through debris and assessed the damage, with large cracks defacing walls in the houses that still stood, and brick fences reduced to rubble.
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