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Morning News

Death Count Continues to Climb After Earthquake in India

Aired January 29, 2001 - 10:01 a.m. ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: We are following the deepening crisis and the climbing death toll in India. Hope is fading as the country enters its fourth day since the deadly earthquake.

We're going to go ahead and start in Western India, where government officials say the death toll may eventually climb to 20,000.

CNN's Kasra Naji joins us now by phone.

Kasra, what's the latest?

KASRA NAJI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Daryn, more survivors have been pulled from under the rubble in the town of Bhuj. This town is close to the epicenter of the earthquake, and much of the relief efforts have been concentrated. The latest survivor, which has been pulled from under the rubble was a 4-year-old baby, and he managed to survive.

But, obviously, as you said, this is the fourth day after the earthquake and, obviously, hopes for finding many more survivors are fading and fading fast. With relief efforts concentrated in the town of Bhuj, we're getting, also, reports that many other towns and villages are as badly hit as Bhuj. Many of them are cut off and we have little information as to what is happening there.

Aerial survey by army and some journalists who've gone on helicopters and on planes -- apparently it shows that many of these places have been flattened. There is a report of one town of 200,000 people, according to one local reporter here, that's been completely flattened -- hardly any structure is standing. So if these reports are correct, which I think they are, by all signs we're getting here. My own impression is that the death toll is going to increase well above the 20,000 that the authorities here have been mentioning.

The prime minister, Vajpayee, has been visiting the area today and he has called on Indians to give generously to special relief funds that they have set up. Also, at the same time, more rescue teams are arriving in India, in New Delhi, through the international airports from a dozen of countries or so; and, also, some of them have already got to the area. They are working and they have managed to be very useful in finding survivors under rubble in these areas -- Daryn.

KAGAN: Kasra Naji joining us by phone, thank you very much. TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com

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