Quake survivors force way onto helicopters

DOZENS of quake survivors forced their way onto two UN helicopters involved in the relief effort and demanded to be taken out of a Kashmir village.

Elsewhere, three children died when a fire caused by candle swept through their tent as they slept near their home ruined by the October 8 earthquake.

Aid workers said about 50 villagers forced their way onto two UN helicopters after they landed in the village of Bana Mula.

The helicopters took off with the villagers on board and landed safely at their destinations in Muzaffarabad and the city of Abbotabad, said the aid workers, who asked not to be identified because they are not allowed speak to the media.

The villagers fled after the choppers landed, they said.

UN deputy humanitarian co-ordinator, Larry Hollingworth, said the "regrettable incident" was being investigated.

He could not confirm a report that one UN staffer was punched by the villagers who jumped onto the helicopters.

Helicopters are vital in the relief effort, particularly after heavy snows this week blocked roads, hampering the delivery of aid for several days. Authorities say the military and other aid groups have resumed relief activities as the weather has improved.

The quake killed about 87,000 people and left 3.5 million homeless. Many survivors have been sleeping in tents and tin shelters in the Pakistan-controlled part of Kashmir and north-western Pakistan.

Pakistan's top relief official, Maj Gen Farooq Ahmad Khan, said soldiers and engineers were clearing roads and building shelters in the quake-hit areas.

He also said there was no danger of outbreak of cold-linked ailments in quake-affected areas.

The World Health Organisation says at least 18 people have died of pneumonia in the past six weeks.

Nevertheless, it says the situation is under control.

The tent fire killed three brothers between ages two and six late on Thursday, said the deputy commissioner for the region, Liaquat Hussain. Two other children and a 75-year-old man were taken to a hospital.

Mr Hussain said the family had pitched the tent next to their home, which was destroyed by the quake. He said the fire was caused by a candle inside the tent which, like virtually all the canvas shelters in the quake zone, lacked heating.