Over 300 School Children among 800 Killed in NW Pakistan
Pakistan Times NWFP Bureau Report

PESHAWAR: As the high intensity earthquake played havoc in parts of the country Saturday morning, the North West Frontier Province (NWFP) remained the hard hit where the calamity has so far eaten up more than 800 people in Hazara division alone. Some 300 ill-fated school children are among the dead.

Though the provincial government has declared emergency all over the province, the death toll is feared to move much higher as hundreds of the affectees are still stranded under the debris in the remote areas where effective rescue activities could not be conducted owing to hosts of problems.

According to preliminary reports at least 1000 persons have so far been killed while more than 3000 injured in the province when the tremor recorded 7.6 at Richter scale rocked Mansehra, Abbotabad, Balakot, Shangla, Batagram and Kohistan around 8.50 am, official sources confirmed.

The major casualties have been reported from four districts of Hazara division namely Abbotabad, Batagram, Mansehra and Kohistan, and mountainous Shangla district. Number of casualties occurred due to landsliding, house and floor collapses. The government machinery has been put on high alert to provide every possible help and assistance to the quake affected people.

Army rescue and medical teams have left for the affected areas of earthquake in district Mansehra Saturday morning. The rescue teams of Army embarked on helicopters to take part in the rescue operation in the quake affected areas of Mansehra division.

According to reports reaching here from Hazara division, the rescue teams have recovered the dead bodies of 250 school children in the jurisdiction of Garhi Hadood town police station in Mansehra district while 500 bodies are still under the debris of the school building that collapsed due to devastating earthquake Saturday morning.

Police operation Room here says that the bodies of 50 school children are still under the wreckage of a school building that caved in village Gulmaira in Mansehra district.

Similarly 100 people died in the jurisdiction of police station Bakot. A head constable of police and a constable died when the building of a police Garat collapsed in Balakot areas while a lady sub inspector died in Battagram police station. The rescue teams also recovered 25 dead bodies from various villages falling in the jurisdiction of police station Oghi in Mansehra district.

The bodies have been recovered from villages Sajjan, Malkora, Katai, Jaskot, Bailyan, Shandra and Darra. In the jurisdiction of police station Baffa, 52 dead bodies have been recovered from Gulbagh, Kulhara, Khwad Baffa, Baffa Kalan and Accharyan. Whereas village Dus Pattian has totally been destroyed as a result of the severe intensity earthquake. In Shangla district, the death toll reaches to 130 while 51 sustain injuries.

The death casualties in Swat have so far been reported two and 20 injured. According to police operation room authorities the exact figures of the deaths could not be ascertained as countless number of villages have been destroyed and the rescue teams facing lot of difficulties in reaching the spot as communication infrastructure also badly damaged.

Panic gripped the provincial metropolis Peshawar where thousands of people came out of the buildings after the major jolt. Main business centers, offices as well as schools were immediately closed down in Peshawar where minor injuries were reported to around dozen people from different parts of the city. Many high rising buildings of the town as well as some school buildings developed serious cracks while incidents of roof caving in were also reported in the interior of the city.

Frequent jolts followed by severe intensity earthquake further terrified people. Emergency police informed said at least eight injured were admitted in Lady Reading Hospital Peshawar including four children and two were brought to Khyber Teaching Hospital. 

The provincial government of MMA has declared emergency and launched a full-fledge rescue operation for providing relief to the people affected from the earthquake. This Provincial Minister for Information, Asif Iqbal Daudzai told newsmen after the cabinet meeting that the government has decided to set up base camp for relief activities in Abbotabad and dispatched trucks loaded with relief goods to affected areas of NWFP. 

Manshera was the hard hit area where 80 to 85 percent houses and building were damaged. Said the Information Minister adding in Battagram district about 80 to  85 loss of property was reported. Reports speak of fatal injuries to people from different parts of the province including Charsadda, Mardan and some other areas.

The provincial government, he said, has also approached army for assistance which has provided two helicopters for relief operation. At least 70 persons were reported killed in Shangla district including 15 in sub tehsil Chaksar, 13 in Alpori, 22 in Bisham and more than six people succumbed to their injuries in Karora. At least five persons died when a jeep coming from Larari to Alpori plunged into a deep ravine due to high intensity jolt.

The deceased were identified as Lal Gul, Syed Majeed, Taj Muhammad, Rahim Taj, resident of Larai and wife of Payanda Mand, resident of Alpori died on the spot. The quake measured 7.5 on International Richter Scale, demolished hundred of houses and boundary walls in the mountainous Shangla district.

Likewise two students identified as Waqas son of Aurangzeb and Tajdar son of Mamoon, residents of Ghandoo also expired when a school wall fell on them. Similarly, Karo son of Khajo, resident of Tangai, wives of Ahsanullah, Hazrat Bacha, daughter of Sakhi, two minor sons of Muhammad Akhar and an identified person leave this mortal world after wall of their houses caved in.

The victims were rushed to the nearby hospitals where many injured succumbed to injuries before receiving any treatment. In Shapore area at Harkana, three persons of a family died including wife of Gul Muhammad, his five years old son and eight year daughter after floor of their houses caved in. The quake was so sever that it did not provide any chance to people to leave their houses towards open places.

In Harkana, more then half a dozen people were killed after floor of their houses caved in. In the other incident, four persons including two women and two minors of Abdul Hanan’s family expired when their house caved in. In Besham area, two children of Nowsherwan died as their house caved in.

At least eight students of Government Degree College, Aloch received critical injuries when they jumped from the upper floor in panic. Due to the landsliding and avalanches, the Shangla-Swat road from Besham to Ranyaal and Youran were closed for all kind of traffic.

In the meanwhile the Provincial Home and Tribal Affairs department has directed all the government departments to mobilize their resources and help the concerned District Administrations in the relief activities. All the District level staff of official departments was asked to coordinate with DCOs Abbottabad, Mansehra, Kohistan, Battagram etc. The Health, Works and Services and Civil Defence Departments have been directed to make their services available in the affected areas round the clock.

The Home Department is coordinating with concerned District Administrations for any relief assistance, which is being dispatched on emergency basis. Information about human and material losses may be conveyed to Relief Committee members available on the following telephone numbers.

Provincial Crisis Management 9210513, Centre, Home and TAs Department 9210300-9210238 Peshawar 9210036 Relief Committee Ghulam Farooq Khan, Relief 0992-333672 (Res) Commissioner, Board of Revenue (at Abbottabad) Jalilur Rehman, Director General, 0321-9001597 Health Services Syed Zafar Ullah, Assistant Director, 0992-9310214 Civil Defence, Abbottabad.●