Peru quake toll passes 500

PISCO: Aftershocks rattled rescuers as they clawed through rubble Friday in a desperate search for survivors of the Peruvian earthquake that claimed at least 500 lives.   

With unidentified bodies still lining the streets of Pisco and other towns in the zone worst hit from the 8.0 magnitude quake, Peruvian authorities launched an international appeal for help to back their own relief operation.   

At least 300 people were said to have died in Pisco alone as Wednesday's quake brought a church coupole down on hundreds of mourners at a funeral service and destroyed scores of other buildings in the port city.   

President Alan Garcia, who declared three days of national mourning, was besieged by dozens of inhabitants begging for help as he toured Pisco.   

"Mr. President, we need coffins!" cried one resident as Garcia reached a square where 50 bodies were waiting to be identified. Some inhabitants berated rescuers for not working fast enough.   

Another 50 corpses were lined on the ground outside the San Clemente church which collapsed during a funeral mass packed with mourners. Many dead were still believed to be under the rubble but six survivors were dragged out Thursday.   

Only the front wall and two bell towers were left standing.   

Already shredded nerves were kept in a state of constant anxiety as more than 300 aftershocks, some as powerful as 6.3 on the Moment Magnitude scale, shook Peru after the main earthquake. The aftershocks were expected to last several days.   

"We have hundreds of dead lying in the streets, and injured people in the hospital. It is totally indescribable," said Juan Mendoza, the mayor of Pisco.   

"Seventy percent of the town is devastated. We don't have water, no communications, the houses are collapsed, the churches are destroyed," he said, adding his town of 130,000 needed urgent medical help.   

Another church collapsed during a service in Ica, the provincial capital southeast of Pisco. Mayor Mariano Nacimiento said at least 70 people were killed and 800 wounded in the town, with at least four killed and dozens injured when the Senor de Luren church fell on worshippers.   

The US Geological Survey (USGS) said the quake was a rare and powerful 8.0 on the Moment Magnitude scale.   

Embassies in Lima were concerned about foreign nationals in Paracas, a popular tourist spot near Pisco that has been cut off since the quake, which caused a swathe of destruction along the southern coast.   

Buildings collapsed, major highways to the coast were ripped apart and power lines knocked out. Tsunamis flooded fishing villages on the Paracas bay and in Chincha, some 600 inmates fled a jail after the quake struck, authorities said.   

In Lima, tens of thousands of people spent the night on the streets fearing more tremors. Two people died from heart attacks blamed on the quake, which overwhelmed local officials and prompted urgent appeals for help.    

Officials in Lima gave an overall toll of at least 500 dead and 1,600 injured from the country's worst earthquake in four decades. But they warned the number of dead would rise. The Peruvian government was to meet with UN agencies and representatives of donor nations at a Lima hotel on Friday morning to give a full assessment of the quake damage and its aid needs, UN officials said.   

The United Nations said it was ready to help and the International Federation of the Red Cross said it sent two planes loaded with relief supplies for the earthquake victims. Foreign governments and aid groups launched relief efforts, including Japan, Canada, Spain, Italy and France. Peru's regional neighbors have also mobilized including Ecuador, Bolivia, Brazil, Mexico, Venezuela, Colombia and Chile.   

Pope Benedict XVI called for Roman Catholic organizations to provide assistance, as relief organizations including Firefighters Without Borders and Oxfam launched efforts to assist the earthquake victims.   

Canada offered 1.9 million dollars while Japan said it will send nearly 150,000 dollars and US President George W. Bush offered condolences and 100,000 dollars in emergency aid.   

Peru declared its highest state of emergency to deal with the disaster, and hospitals around the country were put on high alert. The health ministry made an emergency appeal for blood donations.   

Peru has long lived in fear of a repeat of a 1970 earthquake that killed 70,000 people, many of whom perished in the mountain city of Huaraz which was buried by a mudslide.