86 injured in Mirpur aftershocks as death toll rises to 39

MIRPUR: At least 86 more persons were injured as a result of the severe aftershocks of the deadly earthquake in the Mirpur city of Azad Jammu and Kashmir on Thursday.

It was the third successive day of the intermittent shocks of the major September 24 catastrophe that has so far left at least 39 dead and over 550 injured besides loss to the private and public properties worth billions of rupees, authorities said.

Mirpur Deputy Commissioner Raja Qaiser Aurangzeb Khan told APP that 86 persons were injured in two aftershocks of the earthquake of moderate intensity that hit the Mirpur city and outskirts. They were rushed to Divisional Headquarters Hospital. Ten of the seriously injured persons were admitted and the rest of them were discharged after medication, he added. The deputy commissioner confirmed 34 casualties registered with the control room, set up in his office.

Mirpur and adjoining areas had experienced aftershocks of the earthquake of moderate intensity again at about 12.01 pm on Thursday. The aftershocks had lasted for a few seconds. People rushed out of buildings in attempt to save lives. The people were injured in collapse of the already earthquake-affected buildings following the aftershocks.

Meanwhile, relief and rescue work are in full swing in the quake-hit zone of Mirpur and adjoining areas. Azad Jammu and Kashmir Secretary Health Services Major General Tahir Sardar, Director General of Health Dr Sardar Aftab Ahmed, District Health Officer Dr Fida Hussain, Medical Superintendent of DHQ Hospital Dr Farooq Noor and PMA District AJK President Dr Ijaz Raja are directly supervising the relief and rescue work by the special mobile medical teams of the State Health Department in the affected areas.

Unveiling the break-up of the medical relief works by the State Health Authorities, Dr Ijaz Raja said that since the evening of September 24 when Mirpur was shaken by earthquake, the State Health Department doctors and paramedical teams from various parts of the district rushed to the earthquake victims in the division. The headquarters hospital and subordinate health units’ efforts are continuing till the last patient recovers, he added.

Elaborating, he said Secretary Health, Director General Health and DHO along with PMA team visited the earthquake stricken areas, recorded and documented the infrastructure losses in different health units, including new city teaching hospital, nursing college, Mirpur Medical College and all affected BHUs and RHCs for onward moving to all concerned authorities. Dr Ijaz Raja said that the World Health Organization was going to provide portable ultrasound, x-ray machine and well-equipped anesthesia machine for emergency within 24 hours. He said a detailed list of emergency medicines and equipment list also given to the WHO team and they promised to provide ASAP, he added.

Meanwhile, Pakistan’s ally nations — including the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Japan — as well as the United Nations have offered help for the earthquake victims’ rehabilitation, an official of the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) said, adding, however, that the country had “all needed resources” to deal with the disaster.

More than 10,000 individuals are said to have been severely impacted by the earthquake. The UAE's ambassador to Pakistan, Hamad Alzaabi, offered his country's assistance to Pakistan late Wednesday, writing on his Twitter account: "I have received direct instructions from Abu Dhabi to provide all kinds of support and assistance to families and areas affected by the earthquake in different parts of Pakistan."

"We are currently assessing the needs with NDMA of Pakistan, our condolences to bereaved families,” he added. "The UN country representative in Pakistan has offered full support especially for rehabilitation of women and children in the affected areas," said Mumtaz, NDMA deputy-director for media, told Arab News.

“Japan [has] also contacted us to support the quake victims,” he added, noting that Islamabad was not currently open to foreign assistance as it had “all needed resources” at hand. Among the relief items the government has already distributed to the earthquake victims were tents, food, kitchen utensils, blankets, and fresh water, while rescue teams were in the affected areas with life-saving drugs and surgical kits.