Quake Rocks North Pakistan, No Casualties

Author: 
Azhar Masood & Associated Press
Publication Date: 
Mon, 2005-12-26 03:00

ISLAMABAD, 26 December 2005 — An earthquake of magnitude 5.2 shook northern Pakistan yesterday but there were no immediate reports of casualties or damage, a meteorological official said.

The quake shook buildings in Islamabad, where some residents ran out of their homes, local Geo television reported.

But the quake was barely felt in Muzaffarabad, the capital of Pakistan-administered Kashmir, near the center of the 7.6-magnitude quake in October that killed an estimated 87,000 people and left more than 3.5 million homeless.

The state-run Seismological Center in the northwestern city of Peshawar said the latest quake measured 5.2 and was centered 200 km northeast of Peshawar. It said the quake was moderate, but it had no reports of damage or casualties.

US Ambassador Ryan Crocker was visiting the US Mobile Army Surgical Hospital set up to help quake survivors in Muzaffarabad at the time of the quake, but apparently no one felt it in the hospital.

Crocker, meanwhile, praised Pakistan’s cooperation with the US in the war on terror, and said that the US humanitarian mission “is our turn to reciprocate the spirit, and we are happy to give whatever is needed for reconstruction and rehabilitation.”

“I am pleased to have this opportunity to be with our men and women on this Christmas,” he said.

“They are working happily to help the people affected by the earthquake.”

In recent days, the Pakistani Army, with the help of US helicopters, NATO troops, UN and other aid groups, has stepped up delivery of winterized tents, warm clothes, food and medical items to survivors as temperatures dropped below freezing.

Meanwhile, high in the mountains of the Himalayan region of Kashmir, where a few have heard of Christmas, an American admiral surprised hundreds of Muslim children, survivors of the Oct. 8 quake, with gifts of stuffed toys and candies.

Standing outside the US Mobile Army Surgical Hospital, or MASH, near the center of the quake, Navy Rear Adm. Michael LeFever, the senior US commander of the humanitarian mission, said Americans were sharing the joy of Christmas with Pakistani Muslims the same way they shared their Islamic holiday with their foreign guests.

“We are here for humanitarian work and this effort is part of it,” he said.

“You were kind enough to celebrate your Eid with us here, and now this is our turn to share our celebration on one of our holidays here with you people.” Eid Al-Fitr was celebrated earlier this year.

“We are distributing gifts among children as per our tradition, like we do back home in the United States,” LeFever said.

“This is so nice to see smiles on children’s faces. If this could help bring small innocent children out of the shock they suffered, it would be wonderful.”

US military units, including MASH, are part of an international humanitarian relief operation for victims of the massive quake, which also forced more than 3.5 million from their homes as it devastated parts of northwestern Pakistan and the Pakistan-administered Kashmir region.

Separately, in Shinkiari, a Marine Corps medical unit also is providing care for about 200 people a day.

“We have distributed gifts among children in Shinkiari in a similar hospital and now we are seeing the same happiness on children’s faces here. Next we’ll go to the Australian hospital in Dhani,” said US Capt. Rob Neyell, who accompanied LeFever on a quick helicopter Christmas tour.

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