UN warns of further tragedy in quake zone

THE head of the UN refugee agency, stunned by the damage in earthquake-ravaged northern Pakistan, warned yesterday that urgent work is needed to avert further tragedy as troops race against time to get aid to the most vulnerable before the frigid Himalayan winter sets in.

UN High Commissioner for Refugees Antonio Guterres met with officials in Pakistani-held Kashmir, toured a tent camp for quake survivors and visited what is left of Balakot, a town largely flattened by the October 8 quake, which killed an estimated 86,000 people and destroyed the homes of more than three million in Pakistan. A further 1,350 died in Indian-held Kashmir.

Heading into Balakot aboard a UN helicopter, Mr Guterres peered at hillsides covered by the jumbled rubble of what were once homes, shops and schools.