Unicef voices concern over fate of Pakistan quake victims

Moscow, Nov 1 (RIA Novosti) The UN Children's Fund (Unicef) expressed concern Saturday over the situation in southwestern Pakistan's Balochistan province in the aftermath of the Oct 29 earthquake that claimed over 200 lives.

Sarah Crowe, Unicef's representative in the region, said the 6.7 magnitude earthquake left 108,000 people homeless, half of them children.

She said the UN agency has provided warm clothes and blankets, and the Pakistani government is providing tents in the quake hit province, close to the border with Afghanistan, where night temperatures now reaches minus 7 degrees Celsius.

The quake struck at the small hours of Wednesday, 70 km north of the provincial capital Quetta, according to the US Geological Survey. Several aftershocks were subsequently felt.

Pakistan's military sent helicopters to the province, carrying rescue and medical teams, as hospitals struggled to cope with the large numbers of injured.

Convoys carrying aid for the victims have faced difficulties in reaching many of the remote villages in the impoverished mountainous region.