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Rescue operations give way to rehabilitation

Scott McDonald in Bhuj

Rescue operations in the earthquake-ravaged Gujarat wound down on Tuesday as efforts to bring food, shelter and clean drinking water to hundreds of thousands moved into a higher gear.

The rescue of a brother and sister who had survived on rice and water in the rubble of their home for 10 days brought a fleeting moment of joy on Monday.

But residents of the crippled town of Bhuj in Gujarat described the couple's survival as a miracle, and rescuers said the chances of finding more people alive were now extremely remote.

The earthquake, which measured 7.9 on the Richter Scale, is estimated to have killed at least 30,000 people and left hundreds of thousands without homes.

It even jolted underground water tables, turning fresh water wells salty and pushing up sweet water in places where none had flowed before.

The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies said late on Monday that as many as 50,000 people may have died in the violent quake.

"When you look at the TV footage and when you go yourself and see the number of collapsed buildings, I mean simple calculations take you to 50,000 people dead," said Bob McKerrow, head of the federation's regional delegation for South Asia.

The Hindu newspaper quoted Suresh Mehta, the second-most senior minister in the Gujarat government, as saying that thousands of bodies were still lying under the debris of the worst-hit towns and villages.

"There is nothing to salvage in Bhuj, Bhachau and Anjar," he said. "What remains are only heaps of rubble and ruins all around which will take months to clear."

Meanwhile, there were a few stray signs of daily life creeping back to normality in Bhuj on Tuesday, with fruit and vegetable carts appearing back on the streets and more petrol stations open than on previous days.

The Complete Coverage| List of earthquake sites

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