‘There is nobody who can help me save my classmates. Is there anybody who can help me?’

IT was just before 9am and 17-year-old Uzair Mohammed Qureshi was reading his chemistry book as the ground began to shake.

Seconds later, the roof caved in, showering Qureshi and his classmates with debris. He was one of the few to survive.

In just one small Himalayan town, three schools crumbled in the devastating earthquake that struck northern Pakistan on Saturday, burying hundreds of students.