UN seeks to double Pakistan aid request

THE United Nations almost doubled its emergency aid request for quake-stricken Pakistan to $550 million (€455 million) yesterday as aid workers warned thousands of survivors face death from exposure and disease.

UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan said the need for funding was more critical than ever as the Himalayan winter approached, and urged governments and individuals to make donations.

“The scale of this tragedy almost defies our darkest imagination,” Annan told representatives from 60 countries gathered in Geneva for an emergency donors’ conference to take stock of rescue efforts following the October 8 quake.