India earthquake rescue effort enters fifth frantic day

January 30, 2001
Web posted at: 1:06 a.m. EST (0606 GMT)

In this story: Exact death toll unknown Surprise survivor Shelter and food Funeral pyres Financial cost of restoration Prime minister 'encourages' relief workers RELATED STORIES, SITES

BHUJ, India -- Four days after a 7.9-magnitude earthquake leveled a large swathe of western India, rescuers are continuing their frantic work to free people trapped under fallen debris.

The official death toll from the quake now stands at more than 6,000, but India's Defense Minister, George Fernandes, told CNN onTuesday that he believes the final toll may reach as high as 100,000, making it one of the deadliest quakes in the past century.

He said it was still too early to say with any certainty, but the figure was his own estimate based on personal visits to some of the worst hit areas in and around the town of Bhuj in the state of Gurarat.

Other estimates as to the total number of people killed in Friday's quake have out the figure closer to 20,000, with the number of injured totaling more than 32,000.

VIDEO CNN's Nic Robertson has more on the rescue efforts (January 29) Play video (QuickTime, Real or Windows Media) CNN's Satinder Bindra reports on the medical treatment of quake survivors (January 28) Play video (QuickTime, Real or Windows Media) RESOURCES Chronology of deadly earthquakes in the last 20 years MAGNITUDE GUIDE Below is an interactive guide to earthquake magnitude and severity: Magnitude: Less than 3.5 3.5 - 5.4 Under 6.0 6.1 - 6.9 7.0 - 7.9 8 or greater ALSO Search begins for UK quake victims

A spokesman for Gujarat State said the government had recovered 6,287 bodies, but he said hundreds, perhaps thousands, of other bodies had been cremated by families. Hundreds more were buried and may never be accounted for.

Exact death toll unknown

Earlier Indian Cabinet Minister Arun Jaitley told CNN International that it was impossible at this time to determine how many people have been killed in the earthquake.

"The official figures are only in regard to the dead bodies which have been recovered, and more and more are being recovered by the hour," Jaitley said Monday. "It will still take a few days before the final toll of the death can be really indicated."

Rescue teams were using sensitive listening devices to find survivors trapped under the rubble of hundreds of buildings that collapsed in Friday's quake.

"As far as devastation is concerned, it is absolutely extensive," Jaitley said. "Village after village has been razed to the ground. There are several towns which have been absolutely made non-existent. There are people who are buried under the rubble and debris."

Essential services need to be provided to survivors, Jaitley said.

Surprise survivor

On Monday, rescuers trying to recover the body of a woman killed by the quake made a startling discovery -- an infant in her lap, covered with blood but still alive. Doctors say the 7-month-old will survive, said R.K. Thakur, a Border Security Forces assistant commandant.

However, tales of dramatic rescues are becoming rare after three cold nights.

"Hope of finding survivors is dwindling hour by hour, but as long as there is hope, we won't give up," said Joachim Ahrens, spokesman for a Swiss government agency responsible for a rescue team in Bhuj. "The hopes are dwindling, but they are not yet dead."

Shelter and food

"They are badly in need of shelter and food," said Kishore Mehta of aid agency BAPS Care International.

"There is a shortage of water also," Mehta said. "Volunteers are finding a lot of grief among the persons who are affected. They are in so much shock, and they are in desperate need of help to get their life back to normal."

UNICEF spokeswoman Sandi Blanchett said one of the primary problems is providing medical care for the thousands of injured. She said most hospitals were flattened by the quake, and literally thousands of injured people have not been able to obtain care.

She said people were also afraid to go back into what few buildings were left standing. Survivors huddled in open fields, wrapped in blankets. Some organized free kitchens, cooking rice, vegetables and lentils in huge vats.

"We have only ourselves to turn to," said Ramiklal Jaisa, 72. He and 5,000 others have been camping in a field since Friday.

Funeral pyres

Disposing of bodies to prevent the spread of disease was also a concern.

"People are cremating bodies everywhere, on both sides of the road," Blanchett said, "including the unclaimed bodies that are also being burned."

She said another pressing problem is water. The Gujarat area is arid, and the region has experienced a drought over the last two years.

Tremors lasting up to 30 seconds continued to shake India on Monday, panicking residents but causing no new damage beyond minor cracks in buildings.

A 4.3-magnitude quake at 8:08 a.m. Monday was centered 33 kilometers (20 miles) from Bangalore, a city 1,350 kilometers (850 miles) southeast of the epicenter of Friday's quake. Authorities there closed schools and colleges Monday.

Financial cost of restoration

In the first estimate of the damage, the Federation of Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry put losses at $5.5 billion, in addition to a daily production loss of $111 million, Secretary-General Amit Mitra said.

Clearly overwhelmed, the government said Sunday it would ask for a $1.5 billion loan from the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank for reconstruction.

U.S. State Department spokesman Richard Boucher said Monday that the United States government had already given almost $1 million to help with the quake recovery. On Sunday, Washington promised to eventually donate $5 million.

Prime minister 'encourages' relief workers

Also on Monday, Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee arrived in Bhuj, near the epicenter of the quake, saying that help was not coming quickly enough. "Relief work needs to be speeded up," Vajpayee told reporters. "The government is surveying the villages. There is a lack of relief work in the villages."

But Jaitley told CNN International that the prime minister's comments were being misconstrued.

"He (the prime minister) went there to encourage relief workers, to show solidarity with the people there, and he also expressed anxiety that we have to hasten the extent of the relief work because there are still areas where relief work is not adequate," Jaitley said. "So it was not more a critical comment, but it was a challenge before the relief workers that we have to do much better than what we are doing."

New Delhi Bureau Chief Satinder Bindra and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

U.S. pledges $5 million in aid relief
January 28, 2001
India tends to quake survivors
January 28, 2001
"Nothing between the earth and the sky"
January 27, 2001
CNN at the scene of the disaster
January 26, 2001
More than 1,000 dead in India earthquake
January 26, 2001

U.S. Geological Survey
UNICEF relief efforts
The World Bank Group
AmeriCares Foundation
CARE
International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement

Note: Pages will open in a new browser window

External sites are not endorsed by CNN Interactive.