It is not an easy journey from Abbotabad to Balakot as some parts of the two-way road was blocked by the rocks rolled down from the mountains during Saturday's powerful earthquake and the falling aftershocks and landslide.

However, the 62 km journey was also an affecting one although it took more than three hours to reach the small mountainous city demolished by the earthquake measuring 7.6 on the Richter scale.

Officials said about 10,000 people or one-fourth of its population were killed by the earthquake. It counted about one half of the total casualties declared by the government.

Military trucks, buses, cars, motor-cycles and many other vehicles were seen Tuesday rushing to Balakot. Most of the vehicles carried volunteers and relief goods.

Vehicles were not enough. Volunteers clung on to different parts of the vehicles in an effort to reach the site earlier.

Some villagers were waiting beside the road, hoping to find a vehicle to carry them to Balakot. Most of the vehicles also carried some food and old clothes donated by residents of nearby area.

The flow of the vehicles nearly came to a full stop as they were about 10 km away from Kolaukut. Ambulances rushed out from the city as the vehicles moved in. Helicopter roared in the sky, transferring the injured to hospitals.

Fallen stones as large as cars could still be seen at both sides of the road and they were preventing rescuers from reaching the city quickly.

It's very hard to find a stand building in the smelling Balakot. Schools, shops, hotels and residential buildings turned to debris during the earthquake.

"I came to see if I can provide any help," said 23-year-old Olfat of the nearby Mansehra. "I also came to see what the final day of the world looks like."

Heavy rain stormed Balakot on Tuesday, making the rescue and relief operations more difficult. Some survivors and volunteers took shelter under rooves left by the collapsed houses.

The Pakistani government deployed thousands of military personnel in Balakot and nearby districts.

"We have medical camps, we have rescue teams, we are also keeping law and order in the area," said an officer named Saleem from the army.

Saleem said the army has moved more than 1,000 injured to hospitals of Abbotabad and other cities via helicopters since the army arrived on Sunday.

About ten wounded lied in the open ground near a restaurant, waiting for ambulances to transfer them to the hospital. Relatives and volunteers covered plastic cloth on the injured to protect them from the rain.

Rescue teams from China, France and United Arab Emirates are also offering help to the operation.

Although nearly totally damaged, Balakot was not the worst as the city is still reachable.

The 90-year-old Noorahmad and a group of women walked five hours from their village named Kotgala to Balakot, hoping to get some relief goods in the city.

"There are no rescue teams, no food, no houses in my village," said Noorahmad, who lost five grandchildren in the earthquake.

Some experts said it will take five to 10 days to complete the rescue operation, depending on the availability of heavy equipment.

Source: Xinhua