Death toll up to 20,000 in Iranian quake

[trailergod]

damn.....

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmp...d=540&ncid=716

KERMAN, Iran - Entire blocks of buildings lay crushed and survivors lined up blanket-wrapped bodies in the street after a devastating earthquake leveled nearly three-quarters of the Iranian city of Bam on Friday. The preliminary death toll rose to 20,000, the Interior Ministry said, and rescue crews said it could go even higher.

Officials said an accurate count was impossible with many victims still trapped under the rubble, and early death toll estimates have fluctuated greatly. An exact toll is not expected until much later because of the scope of the tragedy.

But the Interior Ministry later released a statement saying the early estimate was 20,000 people. It said 30,000 people were injured. The statement was broadcast on state television.

"The disaster is far too huge for us to meet all of our needs," President Mohammad Khatami (news - web sites) said. "However, all the institutions have been mobilized."

Two senior officials involved in the relief operation said they feared the final toll from Friday's temblor could be 40,000 dead.

The leader of a relief team, Ahmad Najafi, said 40,000 dead was his estimate of the ultimate toll. He said in one street alone in Bam on Saturday, 200 bodies had been extracted from the rubble in one hour's work.

"As more bodies are pulled out, we fear that the death toll may reach as high as 40,000," said Akbar Alavi, the governor of Kerman city, the local provincial capital. "An unbelievable human disaster has occurred."

The quake also destroyed much of Bam's historic landmark — a giant medieval fortress complex of towers, domes and walls, all made of mud-brick, overlooking a walled Old City, parts of which date back 2,000 years. Television images showed the highest part of the fort — including its distinctive square tower — crumbled like a sand castle down the side of the hill, though some walls still stood.

lets just hope it does not go any higher and that the international community will help..

i have been reading the message boards at yahoo.com and i was SHOCKED !!!


http://post.news.messages.yahoo.com/...uUXVJopLzk3w--
some of these posts are too inhuman to read....

[Jake]

America: Everyone who hates us demands our help