Aircraft Desperately Needed In Quake Aftermath

The US military diverted eight helicopters from Afghanistan to Pakistan on Monday, helping in what will be an almost unimaginable relief effort in the wake of a huge earthquake that killed at least 20,000 people. Even so, Pakistan put out the call for more aircraft.

"We are having logistic problems at the moment. Roads are not in a condition to carry heavy trucks of supplies. It's time that matters most now," Andrew Macleod, spokesman for the United Nations Disaster Assessment and Coordination (UNDAC) team told the IRIN news agency.

Five of the US aircraft were CH-47 Chinook variants, supplementing Pakistan's own sizeable fleet of helos. Still, it's not enough, officials said. Pakistani geological officials have already recorded more than 120 aftershocks -- 21 of them more than magnitude 5 on the Richter Scale. The original quake measured 7.6.

"We know that every hour counts in an earthquake of this magnitude and the United Nations is ready to assist the country affected in any possible manner," Jan Egeland, UN Under-Secretary General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, said Saturday.

The helicopters will be used to airlift victims to medical facilities and supplies to the quake-ravaged region, in the disputed Kashmir Province.

In a surprising move indicative of the devastation, Pakistan on Monday accepted offers of help from its bitter nuclear rival, India.

FMI: www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/pk.html