Mother, baby among three more found alive

Rescue workers pulled three people, including a baby and its mother, from the ruins of a killer earthquake yesterday, and they were still alive after some 60 hours, Algerian radio said.

The almost miraculous rescue was made in Bourmedes, the town most hard hit by the quake, which occurred on Wednesday evening.

The find came as the known death toll from the quake, at 1,875, was edging towards the 2,000 mark. At least 8,081 were injured.

A 10-year-old girl was also found alive in the rubble of a building in Boumerdes by Polish and Austrian rescue workers, the Polish news agency PAP said.

Last night Algiers plunged into darkness as the power went out on the city of 4 million.

A correspondent said the lights went out at about 7:35 pm all over the capital. From a peak he could see emergency blue lights from generators dotting the landscape.

"We have to be realistic... I prefer to be honest with our compatriots," Prime Minister Ahmed Ouyahia said on radio as rescuers continued to hunt for survivors from under collapsed buildings. "Unfortunately, we will still find quite a number of people under the ruins."

Grief turned to anger as stunned survivors faulted inadequate rescue efforts and shoddy construction for contributing to the death toll. Facing shortages of food, medicine and blankets and often forced to dig by hand in search of survivors, some blamed the high death toll on a lack of outside help and mechanical diggers.

Others directed their anger against builders, accused the government of having turned a blind eye to substandard construction and faulted corruption.

President Abdulaziz Bouteflika yesterday faced angry residents of Boumerdes when he went to view the devastation.

As Bouteflika toured the ruins of buildings dozens of plainclothed police held back hundreds of people who shouted: "Tents! Water! We are short of everything!"

Meanwhile, the Zayed Organisation for Charity and Humanitarian Works said yesterday it would dispatch relief supplies to the victims of the earthquake in Algeria.

In a statement in Abu Dhabi, the organisation said that the assistance was in line with the instructions of President His Highness Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan and His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Abu Dhabi Crown Prince and Deputy Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces.

Sheikh Ahmed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Under-secretary of the Ministry of Finance and Industry and the organisation's chairman, has ordered relief supplies comprising medicine, foodstuff, tents and other items to be extended to the Algerian earthquake victims.

The assistance will be conducted in co-ordination with the UAE Red Crescent Authority, the Algerian Red Crescent Authority and other humanitarian organisations.

A UAE relief plane carrying medicines, blankets, tents and other relief items will leave today for Algeria, it was announced in Abu Dhabi yesterday.