HTH -- Haiti Earthquake

September 26, 2013. Pakistan's death toll rises to 348 as magnitude of disaster begins to unfold; Helicopter attacked

SOURCE: Kroll

On September 26th, officials announced that the death toll stemming from the earthquake had risen to 348, reports indicated. According to Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan, that number could rise. He said the earthquake affected a 500-kilometer area, some of which Pakistani officials have not been able to reach by car or helicopter.

Survivors are in need of more tents, food, water, doctors, and medical supplies, according to officials. Pakistani authorities also insisted they are capable of dealing with the disaster, and the government has not issued any appeals for international help, according to media sources.

One thousand army personnel are involved in efforts, and the army-run National Logistic Cell was mobilized to coordinate transport of relief goods. C-130 military cargo planes are also set to start transporting relief goods on the 26th. The rescue and relief effort is led by Pakistan's official paramilitary force, the Frontier Corps. The Frontier Corps reportedly already had thousands of soldiers deployed in the area, due to the group's fight against a long-running separatist insurgency by Baloch nationalist rebels.

According to UK media sources, the district worst affected by the quake, Awaran, is considered a hotbed of the separatist movement and is also the home of a leading separatist militant. The Frontier Corps has been accused of enforced disappearances and rights abuses in the province.

In related news, on September 26th, two rockets were fired at an army helicopter ferrying the chairman of the National Disaster Management Authority to the earthquake zone, according to military officials. Nobody claimed responsibility for the failed attack.