Quake kills over 1,000

President His Highness Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan yesterday sent a cable of condolence to Algerian President Abdulaziz Bouteflika, condoling the death of over 1,000 people in the earthquake which hit Algeria Wednesday evening.

His Highness Sheikh Maktoum bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President, Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, also sent a similar cable.

Meanwhile, His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Abu Dhabi Crown Prince and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, has sent a cable of condolence to Bouteflika expressing his deep sorrow and sincere condolences on the victims of the earthquake.

In the Algerian capital and nearby towns, rescue workers tore at piles of rubble yesterday, hoping to find survivors of the earthquake that also injured nearly 7,000.

Measuring 6.7 on the Richter scale, the quake sent terrified residents running into the streets on Wednesday evening in Algiers and towns to the east along a populous Mediterranean coastal strip. The tremor, felt as far away as Spain, was Algeria's worst in more than 20 years.

The worst devastation was in the town of Reghaia, just east of Algiers, where a seven-storey block of 78 apartments collapsed, and more than 350 people were feared to have died.

Hospitals in many towns found it almost impossible to cope. In some areas, bodies had to be piled up outside the hospitals and patients were treated in the open air.

Some 24 hours after the quake struck, Algerian state radio quoted Interior Minister Noureddine Yazid Zerhouni as saying the death now stood at 1,092 and 6,782 people had been injured. Rescuers said hundreds were still missing. Zerhouni said it was still a preliminary figure. The fate of some people buried under shattered buildings is still not known.

In Algiers around 60 buildings were destroyed, among them the Training Centre for the National Sporting Elite.

"There's nothing left of the building. Over 200 dead were found last night and today more are being recovered," said a Reuters photographer on the scene.

"You can smell the victims. Rescue workers are saying 'One, here, one here' as the search dogs find the dead."

In Rouiba, a relatively prosperous city some 30 km (20 miles) from the eastern edge of Algiers, one building after another was reduced to rubble.

The earth shook at 7.44pm (1844 GMT), when many families were gathered at home for dinner.

Algerian television showed dozens of bodies lined up under sheets and blankets, some clearly children. "There were so many wounded, we couldn't count them," one harassed doctor said.

"It's a tragic moment," Prime Minister Ahmed Ouyahia told state radio. "It's a misfortune that hits the whole of Algeria." In the city of Boumerdes on the coast, media spoke of people jumping from windows when the quake struck.

Romanian coach dead Ouyahia said security forces were on alert to stop looting.

Some 200 aftershocks hit northern Algeria in the first two hours after the quake and authorities said more would follow.

Algerian television showed Bouteflika, visibly moved, holding the hands of a middle-aged woman in hospital whose face and lips were shaking uncontrollably.

Bouteflika later declared three days of national mourning from today.

At the sports centre, a three-storey building in its own grounds, at least four people died – a Romanian gymnastics coach, a national swimming coach, a weightlifter and a cook.

Jordan's King Abdullah II expressed his condolences and support to Bouteflika and orde-red the dispatch of humanitarian aid. He telephoned Bouteflika to express his "sincerest condolences and compassion" following the death of hundreds of people, official Petra news agency reported.

He also pledged Jordan's readiness to assist Algeria overcome the tragedy, the agency said, adding that Abdullah ordered the dispatch of a special plane with emergency assistance, including medicine, food and blankets.

France, meanwhile, dispatched 120 rescuers with sniffer dogs and equipment to its former colony. Germany sent 22 technicians, also with dogs and high-tech sound and imaging equipment. Spain said it was sending a field hospital with 10 doctors and a search team with sniffer dogs. Britain is sending 42 firefighters and two sniffer dogs.