…
Israel has offered Pakistan assistance in the aftermath of a devastating earthquake that struck Pakistan, India and Afghanistan, Israeli officials said Sunday, as the rising death toll reached 20,000.
Allowing Israelis into Pakistan to assist in the rescue efforts would be the latest sign that relations between the two countries are warming.
Israel and Pakistan - the second-largest Muslim country - have no official relations, but the two countries’ foreign ministers met last month for the first time. We’ve expressed a desire to help, and we’re hopeful that it will be possible to help," said Mark Regev, a Foreign Ministry spokesman.
Israel - which has sent rescue teams to Turkey and Mexico to assist in evacuation efforts after earthquakes struck those countries - sent a message to Pakistan through “official channels” and the United Nations, said a senior government official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because Pakistan has yet to respond to the offer.
But Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom said later Sunday that there has been no response from Pakistan or India to the offer of assistance.
Pakistani Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz told CNN on Sunday that the death toll from the quake was about 20,000 but expected to rise.
The number of dead does not include those killed in nearby Afghanistan and India. Authorities in India reported 600 deaths and more than 900 people injured, while Afghanistan reported at least four deaths.
No Israeli travelers were injured in the earthquake, the Israeli consulate in Delhi reported Sunday morning.
Meanwhile, rescuers struggled to dig victims out who were still buried beneath the rubble of destroyed apartment buildings, schools and mud-brick homes.
11,000 dead in Muzaffarabad
The worst-hit city in Pakistani Kashmir was its capital, Muzaffarabad, where 11,000 died, Sherpao said. India reported 360 killed and 900 injured.
For hours, aftershocks from the 7.6-magnitude quake rippled across the region as rescue teams struggled to clear piles of debris in a desperate search for survivors. Hospitals evacuated quake victims, some hooked up to intravenous drips, onto their lawns, fearing tremors could cause more damage. As night fell, rain and hail disrupted the recovery effort.
Some 400 children were killed at two schools in Pakistan’s North West Frontier Province, where some 1,000 people were feared dead from the quake, South Asia’s strongest for 100 years.
Pakistan absorbed most of the destruction. In the northern town of Mansehra, a shopowner named Haji Fazal Ilahi stood vigil over the body of his 14-year-old daughter, which lay under a sheet on a hospital mattress. He said his wife, a daughter and a brother also perished in the debris of their home.
“I could see rocks and homes tumbling down the mountains,” said Ilahi, who was driving to his village of Garlat when the quake struck. “When I reached my village, there was nothing left of my home.”
In a show of solidarity, India offered assistance and condolences to its longtime rival, Pakistan. The neighbors, which are engaged in a peace process, have fought three wars since independence from British rule in 1947, two of them over the divided region of Kashmir that was devastated in the quake.
“While parts of India have also suffered from this unexpected natural disaster, we are prepared to extend any assistance with rescue and relief which you may deem appropriate,” Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said in a message to Pakistan’s President, Gen. Pervez Musharraf.
International aid on the way
Pledges of aid from around the world came within hours.
President George W. Bush said U.S. aid was on the way and Britain said it was sending search and rescue experts, sniffer dogs and aid workers.
U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan sent condolences to Pakistan, and a U.N. Disaster and Coordination Team in Geneva was on standby to be deployed. Oxfam and other aid agencies planned to coordinate their response with the United Nations.
Turkey, which has suffered major earthquakes in the past, said it had sent two military planes carrying aid, doctors and rescue workers.
In Pakistan, helicopters flew rescuers into areas where phone lines were down and heavy rain had triggered landslides.
Oxfam Humanitarian Response Coordinator Raphael Sindaye said worsening weather could hamper relief efforts. “Winter is drawing in … winterised tents and blankets will be urgently needed,” Sindaye said after aid agencies met in Islamabad.
“This tragic incident happened in Ghari Habibibullah,” a district village, he said. About 500 students were injured. Dozens of children were feared killed in other schools.
Capital cities shook
In the capitals of Pakistan, India and Afghanistan, buildings shook and walls swayed for about a minute, and panicked people ran from their homes and offices. Communications throughout the region were cut.
“It is a national tragedy,” said Maj. Gen. Shaukat Sultan, Pakistan’s chief army spokesman. “This is the worst earthquake in recent times.”
The United Nations said it was working with Pakistan, Afghanistan and India on an emergency response to the quake.
The U.S. Geological Survey said on its Web site that the quake hit at 8:50 a.m. local time and had a magnitude of 7.6. It was centered about 60 miles (100 kilometers) northeast of Islamabad in the forested mountains of Pakistani Kashmir.
Musharraf and Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz ordered the Pakistani military to extend “all-out help” to quake-hit areas and appealed to the nation to stay calm. Helicopters and C-130 transport planes took troops and supplies to damaged areas, but landslides were hindering rescue efforts.
