Snow Stalls India Quake Relief

An unexpected snowfall Friday forced India's air force to cancel relief flights to earthquake victims. Remote Himalayan villages remain desperate for help after a deadly quake shook the area Monday.

The 6.8-magnitude temblor toppled homes, set off landslides and killed at least 100 people, the government said. Subsequent reports from outlying villages indicated that more than 110 people are dead.

About 350 people were injured by the quake, which was centered in the northern Uttar Pradesh state, along the Chinese border.

Seven large air force helicopters and four smaller army aircraft dropped food packets and tents across the mountains, where about 2,500 houses were destroyed and many others were badly damaged.

But to the victims who were left homeless by the powerful quake, help isn't coming fast enough.

Residents of destroyed towns and villages braved the cold Thursday night -- sleeping on streets, playgrounds, grassy clearings and even army helipads. Most refused to stay in their homes for fear of more tremors.

Since Monday, the area has been rocked by nearly 50 additional tremors. An aftershock measuring 4.8 hit the region early Friday, killing at least one person in Pipal Koti, not far from Chamoli, which bore the brunt of the earthquake, an Uttar Pradesh official said.

"The aftershocks will continue for one or two months," Ravi Shankar, deputy director of the state-run Geological Survey of India, said in a telephone interview from Lucknow, capital of Uttar Pradesh.

The head of the Uttar Pradesh government appealed to the federal government for $70 million in emergency funds.

India's main opposition leader, Sonia Gandhi, flew to the worst hit areas Friday with senior leaders of her Congress party. Gandhi criticized the provincial and federal governments for the slow pace of relief.

Military officials said they were doing all they could, given the bad weather. "We are standing by," said Squadron Leader R.K. Dhingra, the main spokesman for the air force. "If the weather continues to be bad, rescue work will be affected."

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