Muzaffarabad:

Pakistani and US military choppers delivered aid at a brisk pace to the earthquake-stricken region of Kashmir today amid warnings from the UN World Food Programme that half a million survivors have yet to receive desperately needed help. Choppers landed under sunny skies in Muzaffarabad, the capital of Pakistan occupied Kashmir, bringing tents and other supplies, while relief workers rushed to set up field hospitals to treat thousands of stranded, injured people.

The relief effort is one of the most challenging the world has ever faced, according to James Morris, executive director of the WFP. “The aid agencies have managed to help out hundreds of thousands of people, but there are an estimated half a million more people out there in desperate need, who no one has managed to reach,” Morris said from Dubai. “People don’t just need food — first of all they need shelter, blankets and medical assistance — then food and clean water.”