20 children die of pneumonia in quake-hit Pakistan

Twenty children from families displaced by last year’s massive earthquake have died of pneumonia and dysentery during a burst of cold weather in mountains of north-western Pakistan, an official said today.

The victims, aged from two months to seven years, died in the past week, suffering coughing, chest congestion and dysentery, in eight villages in the district of Mansehra, said Sardar Shah Khan, a mayor in the affected area.