16 bodies of '05 quake victims recovered

MUZAFFARABAD (AFP) Rescue workers recovered 16 bodies Thursday, more than four years after a devastating earthquake buried them under tons of rubble in Pakistan Occupied Kashmir, police said. We have recovered 16 dead bodies from the rubble. These people were trapped by the earthquake while travelling in a passenger coach, senior police official Sardar Ilyas, told AFP from Muzaffarabad. The coach was buried in the mountainous Kaamsar village, five kilometres north of Muzaffarabad, police said. Although the bodies were beyond recognition police said some of the victims could be identified by their national ID cards. We have recognised 10 bodies from the identity cards found in their clothes; we are trying to identify the other bodies also. All were local residents, another police official, Raja Suhail, told AFP. The October 8, 2005 quake killed more than 73,000 people and left around 3.5 million homeless, mainly in Pakistan Occupied Kashmir and parts of NWFP.

ePaper - Nawaiwaqt