Monday, March 01, 2010 SANTIAGO: Rescuers are hunting for survivors of an earthquake that hit Chile, killing at least 700 people. Half the victims died in a tsunami that struck Concepcion on Saturday –an area that has now been hit with a succession of aftershocks. President Michelle Bachelet said the country faced ‘a catastrophe of such unthinkable magnitude that it will require a giant effort’ for Chile to recover. At least 60 people in the western town of Concepcion were trapped when their 15-storey tower block collapsed. A full 24 hours later, only 16 people had been pulled out alive and six bodies had been recovered. ‘It’s very difficult working in the dark with aftershocks, and inside it’s complicated. The apartments are totally destroyed. You have to work with great caution,’ said rescuer Paulo Klein. More than 500,000 homes were destroyed in the 8.8 magnitude quake and 2million people are thought to have been made homeless. Most people are choosing to sleep out i...
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