Tens of thousands shiver outdoors in quake zone

Iranian children cry in the rubbles in quake-devastated southeastern Iranian city of Bam. Some 25,000 people were killed in the killer hquake that hit the ancient Iranian city on Friday. PHOTO: AFP

A source in the provincial governor's office, speaking on condition of anonymity, said that more than 20,000 people died and 50,000 others were injured in Friday's quake.

The tremor, which struck before dawn as most of the area's residents were asleep, was met with a swift response from the international community pledging immediate and long-term aid.

Tap Here to Add The Daily Star As A Trusted Source

Bam is built almost entirely of mud brick and is ill-equipped to withstand a big quake.

The city had a population of 90,000 people, with the district home to some 200,000 residents.

Most of those who escaped were spending the night outdoors as the temperature plunged and concerns mounted for those still buried beneath the ruins.

Bereaved residents wandered the streets of Bam pleading for the authorities to speed up rescue efforts.

The city's two hospitals were destroyed in the earthquake, and while field hospitals were set up, they were overwhelmed by the magnitude of casualties.

Kerman provincial Governor Mohammad Ali Karimi said: "One thing is sure: the historic quarter of Bam has been completely destroyed and many of our countrymen are underneath the ruins. The situation is very worrying."

Interior Minister Abdolvahed Mussavi-Lari said the top "priority is to get help to the injured who are under the rubble. It is very cold in the region, and we are very concerned" for them.

"Our second priority is to get the wounded to hospitals in the region," the minister said, adding that five military aircraft were shuttling between Bam and Kerman.

Iran's supreme leader Ali Khamenei conveyed his "heartfelt condolences to the noble Iranian nation and the bereaved families of the victims," state news agency IRNA reported.

"I pray to God for the fast recovery of the injured people and call the executive bodies to take immediate action in rendering aid to the needy people," he said.

President Mohammad Khatami declared the earthquake a "national disaster which requires collective collaboration and cooperation of all executive and military organizations to mobilize all their facilities to help the victims."

More than 90 percent of the old city, one of the wonders of Iran's cultural heritage, was destroyed. Besides the flattened homes, the 2,000-year-old citadel, once the largest mud-brick structure in the world, was gone forever.