South Asian earthquake victims remembered
The majority of aid arrived by helicopter after last year's disaster
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Sunday, 08, Oct 2006 03:44
The first anniversary of the earthquake that killed about 75,000 people in Pakistan and India has been marked by a memorial service in Muzzaffarabad.
Pakistan president Pervez Musharraf led the wreath laying ceremony in the capital of Pakistan-administered Kashmir, with the city the worst affected by the 7.6 magnitude disaster.
More than 73,000 people died in Pakistan due to the tremor, while almost 3.5 million were left homeless.
Prayers were said and a minute's silence held across the country at 08:52 local time (04:52 BST) today, exactly one year after the earthquake struck.
About 18,000 children died as they began lessons last year, while more than 6,000 schools are yet to be rebuilt and half a million people face a second winter with scarce shelter from the elements.
President Musharraf insisted, however, that the majority of reconstruction work would be completed by the end of the decade.
Aid agencies struggled to reach those in need in the aftermath of last year's earthquake due to the region's mountainous terrain.