Pakistan quake toll at 170

Rescue teams and family members searched frantically for survivors late Wednesday in a string of villages in western Pakistan where a powerful earthquake killed at least 170 people.

Thousands were left homeless by the predawn temblor in the rural area, where many residents live in mud-brick homes that collapsed under the force of the magnitude 6.4 quake. Authorities said the death toll could rise as rescuers make their way to remote villages that were cut off by landslides.

Even in good conditions, roads in the area are primitive. Pakistani army helicopters and cargo planes were ferrying in emergency aid, including food, tents and blankets. Medical teams were converging on the scene near the border with Afghanistan, but help arrived too late for some.

President Asif Ali Zardari ordered the national and provincial governments as well as the army to swiftly provide all necessary aid. The quake was yet another challenge for his young government, which is struggling with a flagging economy, clashes with insurgents in the border region, and conflicts with American allies over U.S. military strikes in Pakistani territory.

The quake, which struck as most people were asleep, was centered about 50 miles northeast of Quetta, the capital of Pakistan’s impoverished Baluchistan province. Many survivors lost everything, including warm clothing, just as the chill of winter is setting in.

The area was rocked by a magnitude 6.2 aftershock Wednesday evening, terrifying thousands of people who were preparing to spend a freezing night in the open.

In some of the hardest-hit villages in the Ziarat and Pishin districts, entire families were buried in the ruins of mud-brick compounds, and survivors were digging mass graves, using whatever implements they could find.

Small local hospitals and clinics were inundated with the injured, some of whom had to endure a bumpy trip to Quetta for treatment.

Earthquakes are fairly common in Pakistan. More than 80,000 people were killed in a quake three years ago in the north. Quetta was nearly leveled by an earthquake in 1935.

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laura.king@latimes.com