In Washington, President Bush said eight U.S. military choppers were being moved to help in rescue efforts, and he promised financial assistance. India, which has fought three wars with Pakistan, also offered assistance, as did Israel, which has no relations with the Muslim nation.
"We are handling the worst disaster in Pakistan's history," chief army spokesman Maj. Gen. Shaukat Sultan said.
The quake was felt across a wide swath of South Asia from central Afghanistan to western Bangladesh. It swayed buildings in the capitals of three nations, with the damage spanning at least 250 miles from Jalalabad in Afghanistan to Srinagar in northern Indian territory. In Islamabad, a 10-story building collapsed, killing at least 24 people.
Last night, helmeted rescuers found a survivor after hearing his cries for help. The thin man in a blue shirt, looking dazed, emerged on his own with little help and stood in front of a crowd of cheering onlookers. One rescuer patted his head, and the man waved and pumped his fist in the air.
Pakistan said the death toll ranged between 20,000 and 30,000. India reported more than 600 dead, and Afghanistan said four were killed.
"We have enough manpower, but we need financial support ... to cope with the tragedy," Musharraf said in Rawalpindi, according to the state-run news agency Associated Press of Pakistan.
He also appealed for medicine and tents.
Musharraf told the British Broadcasting Corp. he knew of as many as 20,000 people killed, and Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz told CNN about 43,000 people were injured.
Musharraf said the only way to reach many far-flung areas was by helicopter because roads were impassable.
"Our helicopter resources are limited," he told the BBC. "We need massive cargo helicopter support."
Most of the devastation occurred in northern Pakistan. The U.S. Geological Survey said the quake was centered about 60 miles northeast of the capital, Islamabad, in the forested mountains of Pakistani Kashmir.
<ZR>The USGS said there had been at least 26 aftershocks, including a 6.2-magnitude temblor.
Dozens of villages were cut off from rescuers by quake-induced landslides. Relatives desperate to find their loved ones dug through flattened homes and schools with bare hands.
In Muzaffarabad, a city of 600,000 that is the capital of Pakistani Kashmir, residents said they faced food and gasoline shortages. There was no electricity, and people collected water from a mountain stream.
"People are relying on local fruit, and they have little food to eat. I went out to get bread, and could only get a couple of apples," carpet seller Gul Khan said.
On the Indian side of the border, at least 54 soldiers were killed when their bunkers collapsed, said Col. H. Juneja, an Indian army spokesman.
The death toll in India exceeded 650 yesterday. Most of the deaths were in the Jammu-Kashmir border towns of Uri, Tangdar and Punch and Srinagar.
Hundreds of angry villagers blocked area roads, protesting the slow pace of rescue efforts. Locals demanded that journalists and soldiers with aid go to their mountainside villages.
Most people in Jammu-Kashmir spent the cold night in the open, lighting fires with wood from fallen houses to keep warm.
Imam Al-Khoei Foundation in New York has setup a permanent relief fund (Imam Al-Khoei World Relief Fund) which is collecting donations to provide relief to victims of this disaster. Donations collected will be channeled through the offices of the Foundation in Islamabad.
The United States, Britain, Russia, China, Turkey, Japan, Germany and the United Nations have also offered assistance. An eight-member U.N. team of top disaster coordination officials arrived in Islamabad yesterday.
