Quake Victims Storm Helicopters

MUZAFFARABAD, Pakistan â€”  Dozens of earthquake survivors forced their way onto two United Nations helicopters involved in the relief effort and demanded to be taken out of a village Friday, a U.N. official said.

Aid workers said about 50 people insisted on boarding the helicopters that had landed in the village of Bana Mula, about 85 miles southeast of Muzaffarabad, the capital of the Pakistani-administered portion of Kashmir.

The helicopters took off with the villagers on board and landed safely at destinations in Muzaffarabad and Abbottabad, said the aid workers, who asked not to be identified because they were not authorized to speak to the media.

The villagers fled after the choppers landed, the aid workers said.

“I presume they were coming down from the mountains and basically wanted out. It’s very cold there,� said Larry Hollingworth, the U.N. deputy humanitarian coordinator.

Helicopters are vital in the mammoth relief effort, particularly after heavy snows this week blocked roads, hampering the delivery of aid for several days. Authorities say the military and other aid groups have resumed relief activities in the last couple of days as the weather has improved.

The World Health Organization says at least 18 people have died of pneumonia in the quake-hit region in the last six weeks.

The Oct. 8 quake killed more than 80,000 people and left 3.5 million homeless. Many survivors have been sleeping in tents and tin shelters.

Three children died late Thursday near Muzaffarabad when a fire caused by a candle swept through their tent as they slept near their ruined home.