Snowcuts off quake-hit areas

HEAVY rain and snow buffeted Pakistan’s earthquake-hit areas for a second day yesterday, grounding helicopter aid flights and blocking roads as doctors reported increasing respiratory infections among survivors.

Aid workers have warned that cold weather in the Himalayan foothills, where temperatures have already fallen below freezing, may claim more lives after the October 8 quake left about 87,000 dead and 3.5 million homeless.

Poor visibility forced a suspension of flights by helicopters from the UN, foreign militaries and Pakistan’s army, which have been delivering winterised tents, clothes, food and other provisions to survivors, said Pakistani army spokesman Major Farooq Nasir.