By RIA Novosti,
Moscow : The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) expressed concern on Saturday over the situation in southwestern Pakistan following the October 29 earthquake that claimed over 200 lives.
Sarah Crowe, UNICEF’s representative in the region, said that as well as the fatalities, the 6.7 magnitude earthquake left 108,000 people homeless, of which half are children.
She said UNICEF has provided warm clothes and blankets, and the Pakistani government is providing tents in the Balochistan Province, close to the border with Afghanistan, where night temperatures are reaching minus 7 degrees C (44.6 F).
The quake struck at 4:09 a.m. local time on Wednesday (23:09 GMT Tuesday), 70 km (45 miles) north of the provincial capital Quetta, according to the U.S. 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.