At least 510 people were killed and 1,500 injured in the devastating earthquake which hit Peru, Peruvian firefighters announced Friday, according to DPA. Nearly 17,000 buildings had collapsed when the quake measuring 8.0 on the Richter scale struck Wednesday. More than 85,000 Peruvians were made homeless in the worst-hit province of Ica, and in Lima itself. Rescue teams were still searching for survivors under the rubble. The worst-hit cities were still without water and electricity supplies Friday after the worst quake in 37 years. The Peruvian air force has set up an air bridge between Lima and Ica to deliver relief goods to the stricken towns. Most of the dead were from the cities of Pisco, Ica and Chincha, in the Ica region. Health Minister Carlos Vallejos described the situation in the region as "dramatic." Peruvian President Alan Garcia arrived in Pisco on Thursday to lead relief efforts where some 250 fatalities had been sustained, Civil Protection said. The mayor of Pisco Juan Mendoza said 70 per cent of the city has been destroyed. "We have worked so hard for our city, and now everything has been destroyed," Mendoza told Peruvian radio in tears. A hospital collapsed in Pisco causing the death of at least 30 people, hospital chief Fernando Barros said, calling the situation "horrible." There was no drinking water or electricity, and patients were being treated in the open air, Barros told the online edition of the daily El Comercio. There were also reports of looting in Pisco. One of the priorities was to set up an air bridge to evacuate some of the injured from Pisco to hospitals in Lima, 250 kilometres north of the city, Garcia said. The Peruvian government declared a state of emergency in the Ica region on Wednesday. Schools remained closed Thursday and all police officers were deployed onto the streets. Hospitals were ordered to treat all patients without exception, although many facilities damaged in the quake were reportedly overwhelmed by the number of casualties. Health Ministry doctors had been on strike when the quake struck, but immediately called off their work stoppage to treat the injured. The quake was also felt in Ecuador, Colombia, Brazil and Bolivia. In a telegramme to Peruvian bishops, Pope Benedict XVI called upon "institutions and people of good will" to give the necessary aid to victims of the quake, and said he was "deeply moved by the sad news of the earthquake, which claimed many lives and caused great material damage." The United Nations, governments and humanitarian agencies rallied Thursday to assist Peru's victims. UN agencies had released 200,000 dollars in emergency funds and were poised to send in a UN Disaster Assessment and Coordination (UNDAC) team as well as search and rescue workers, if required. The British charity Oxfam has also sent in teams. The White House offered US aid, including search and rescue teams, to help Peru deal with the aftermath of the quake. A US foreign aid team is on the ground in Lima, assessing the damage and working with Peruvian officials, said Gordon Johndroe, a White House spokesman. President George W Bush extended condolences to the families of those who died in the quake, Johndroe said. Switzerland had sent in experts, while Spain offered a team of 15 rescuers and four sniffer dogs, said the Geneva-based United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, OCHA. The International Federation of the Red Cross was one of the first agencies to fly in tents and plastic sheeting from Panama and was also providing money from its disaster relief fund.
