Pakistan Begins Rescue Efforts As Quake Death Toll Tops 170

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan, Oct. 29 -- The government began recovery and rescue efforts Wednesday after a strong predawn earthquake jolted an impoverished area in southwestern Pakistan, killing more than 170 people, injuring hundreds and destroying thousands of houses and government buildings.

The magnitude-6.4 tremor struck villages and small towns 45 miles north of Quetta, capital of Baluchistan province, about 4 a.m., according to the U.S. Geological Survey. Aftershocks continued throughout the day.

The city of Ziarat and surrounding villages appeared to be the worst-hit. Dilawar Kakar, mayor of Ziarat, said 15,000 people had been rendered homeless. He called for assistance from the national government and the international community.

"Rescue efforts are being made by the villagers themselves, but what we need is a larger operation by the government," he said.

Local police official Muhammad Ghayas said dozens of government buildings and mud-brick houses had been destroyed in Ziarat. One of the affected villages, Wam Kaley, was almost obliterated as landslides triggered by the quake buried houses.

Baluchistan's revenue and rehabilitation minister, Zamaruk Khan, said the government was providing food, shelter and medical care to survivors.

Asadullah, a witness who goes by one name, said that dozens of bodies were piled up in one of Ziarat's hospitals and that doctors were struggling to stretch minimal resources to treat hundreds of injured.