13,000 killed by quake, says Indian minister

Some 13,000 people have been killed in an Indian state by an earthquake, an Indian minister says.

Bimal Shah said 10,000 had been killed in the Kutch district of Gujarat state, near the Pakistan border, where the epicentre was located.

Up to 3,000 had been killed in the rest of the state, he said.

Gujarat's Home Minister Haren Pandya said that 2,500 bodies have been recovered and more than 14,000 were injured.

Another 10,000 people are believed to be buried in Bhuj under the mountains of jagged concrete rubble. At least 5,000 of those are most likely dead, officials said.

Officials in Gujarat state made urgent calls for food, medicine and up to 30,000 tents for people left homeless.

In Gujarat's biggest city, Ahmedabad, 16 teenagers were killed by falling masonry when their four-storey school collapsed. Fifteen other students are feared trapped in the rubble.

Police inspector Ramesh Barot said: "Until Friday afternoon, we could hear the cries of the children. Now we hear nothing. But we are continuing our efforts."

Distraught parents huddled outside the school.

"I want my son back. Why can't they do something?" wailed Nainabehn Patel. Her 16-year-old son, Bhowmik, is trapped under the rubble.