Armenia Forms Information Group on Victims

To cope with hundreds of calls and cables coming from Armenians around the world inquiring about the fate of their families in the devastating earthquake, the Armenian government has formed a special information group in Yerevan, the capital, to provide information on casualties.

Eduard Aikazyan, the republic’s representative in Moscow, said in an interview Monday that the vast number of the casualties--at least 55,000 and perhaps as many as 100,000 people were killed--as well as the scale of damage has made it difficult until now to say who is alive and who has died.

“But we understand the agony of not knowing what has happened to family and friends,” he said, “and we are trying now, both for people at home and for Armenians who live in Western Europe or the United States, to provide information on their fate and to look for them if necessary.”

Equipped with computerized lists of the known dead and injured as well as the names of those evacuated from the area, the group will be able to answer many questions immediately.

But with tens of thousands of people still missing, some inquiries will require more time, Aikazyan said, noting that the whole governmental structure had been destroyed in the earthquake area, which includes Leninakan, Armenia’s second largest city.

The group’s telephone numbers in Yerevan are 58-15-12, 58-15-13 and 58-43-11.

For further help, Armenian-Americans may also call the Committee for Cultural Relations with Armenians Abroad at 52-55-80 in Yerevan or Aikazyan’s office at 924-32-43 in Moscow.

To trace a person, the group said that it will need his or her full name, date of birth and place of residence in Armenia.

The Soviet Communications Ministry meanwhile has reached an agreement with American Telephone & Telegraph to permit Armenian residents to place collect calls to the United States. The number of telephone calls between Armenia and the United States has increased eight-fold since the earthquake Dec. 7.

AT&T; is also installing 10 facsimile machines in Armenia so that Soviet and foreign relief agencies can coordinate their work better.