Frantic search for survivors

RESCUERS struggled to reach remote, mountainous areas and stricken residents of a devastated city scavenged for food and gasoline yesterday, a day after a massive earthquake struck Pakistan and India.

Saturday’s magnitude 7.6 earthquake wiped out entire villages, severed transport links and knocked out power and water supplies.

In dozens of villages, many cut off from rescuers by quake-induced landslides, relatives desperate to find their loved ones dug through rubble with their bare hands, and Pakistani officials said the death toll ranged between 20,000 and 30,000. In addition, India reported more than 600 dead, and Afghanistan said 250 were killed.