Hopes fade for Peru quake victims

Rescue teams in Peru have called off the search for survivors in the areas worst hit by last week's earthquake.

The quake left more than 500 people dead and thousands homeless in the Ica region, south of the capital, Lima.

The focus is now on recovering bodies and getting supplies to those most in need, while security patrols against looters have been stepped up.

Demonstrators heckled President Alan Garcia as he toured the devastated city of Pisco on Sunday, demanding aid.

A spokesman for the Peruvian emergency services said there was no longer any hope of finding any survivors from the quake.

See map of the affected area

"The possibility of finding someone alive is practically nil," fire chief Jorge Molina told the French news agency, AFP.

That view was shared by Rafael Loza, a Peruvian rescuer who was using an infrared camera to find survivors.

Anyone still in the rubble would have choked on the dust from the crumbling adobe buildings, he told the Associated Press.

President Garcia has announced the creation of a special government body to head the efforts to rebuild the worst affected cities like Pisco.

But he rejected calls for the levying of a special tax to deal with the disaster, saying that he felt the government had enough money available to deal with the reconstruction effort.

As he toured Pisco on Sunday with his Colombian counterpart, Alvaro Uribe, Mr Garcia faced angry protesters.

"We need food. We are hungry. There's no water," a crowd of about 100 people shouted.

Supplies are being flown in to the region, while navy ships have been transporting potable water.

The Vatican on Monday said that it was sending $200,000 (£100,000) in aid for victims.

Countries across Latin America - including Ecuador, Bolivia, Brazil, Mexico, Venezuela, Colombia and Chile - have been sending relief supplies. The US, Canada, Spain, Italy and France have also provided aid.

Long queues formed in Pisco on Monday as aid groups distributed water, food and clothing.

The distribution was orderly, in contrast to the previous day when people besieged an army truck when it ran out of supplies, the Associated Press reported.

Cold nights

Hundreds of extra soldiers have been deployed to the region to stem the rise in looting and unrest.

There are also major concerns about the spread of diseases with hundreds of people having to sleep out in the open during the intensely cold nights.

Very little aid has reached more remote mountain communities, a Peruvian official in the town of Castrovirreyna, 200km (140 miles) from Lima, said.

"People are no longer sleeping in their homes. They are going to parks, fields and open ground because aftershocks are happening all the time," Yerma Canales told AP.

The earthquake happened in one of the most seismically active regions of the world.

EARTHQUAKE DISASTER ZONE, AND TECTONIC PLATES

• Earthquake struck on Wednesday at 1841 local time
• The 8.0-magnitude earthquake was centred just off the coast of Peru
• Two tectonic plates clash at this region, the Nazca plate and the South American plate
• There is about 7-8cm (3in) movement between the plates a year

Return to story

RELATED INTERNET LINKS
Peruvian government (in Spanish)
US Geological Survey
Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre
National Institute of Civil Defence
The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites