Earthquake death toll rises to 79,000 (AP) Updated: 2005-10-19 19:32
On Wednesday, Asif Iqbal Daudzai, information minister for Pakistan's North
West Frontier Province, said 37,958 people died in the province and at least
23,172 were injured, the vast majority of them in Mansehra district. He said the
figures were based on reports from local government and hospital officials, and
that the toll was likely to rise.
The prime minister of neighboring Pakistani-held Kashmir, Sikander Hayat
Khan, said at least 40,000 people died in that region. India has reported 1,360
deaths in the part of Kashmir that it controls.
Pakistan's central government has said the death toll from North West
Frontier Province and Pakistani-held Kashmir was a total of 42,000, and expected
to rise. The central count has lagged behind the local count since the early
days of the disaster.
Wednesday morning's 5.8-magnitude aftershock struck 80 miles north of
Islamabad, near the epicenter of the main quake, according to the U.S.
Geological Survey. It was followed by another in the same area about 45 minutes
later that registered 5.6.
The first aftershock caused a landslide in Balakot, one of the cities hardest
hit by the initial quake. Debris covered the road to nearby Mansehra, but it was
quickly cleared, said Pakistani Army Lt. Col. Saeed Iqbal, who is in charge of
relief efforts in the area.
A landslide also blocked a road out of Muzaffarabad, the capital of Pakistani
Kashmir, but it was expected to be cleared quickly.
Iqbal said the aftershock was "very heavy" and that he saw dust rising from
the Kaghan Valley north of Balakot, possibly indicating an additional landslide.
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