Chile troops sent to quell post-quake unrest

Angry and hungry Chileans set fire to shops in the quake-hit city of Concecpion Monday as President Michelle Bachelet rushed 5,000 extra troops to the disaster zone to maintain order.

Huge flames and clouds of black smoke billowed out over Chile's second city even as rescue teams picked through the debris to try to reach survivors whose anguished cries could be heard through the rubble.

The toll from Saturday?s 8.8-magnitude quake and the resulting tsunami that swept central and southern coastal towns rose to 723 as security fears deepened in Concepcion, the worst-hit urban area.

Troops deployed alongside police and deputy interior minister Patricio Rosende said one person was shot and killed as they clamped down on rampant looting overnight, making 160 arrests.

?When we take account of the troops already in Biobio and Maule there will be by tomorrow 7,000 troops deployed,? said Bachelet, as she stepped up efforts to crackdown on the looting and arson.

As aid pledges rolled in from around the world, with the European Union offering four million dollars, Japan three million and China one million, Chile shed its earlier reluctance and said it would now accept outside help.

The UN?s humanitarian coordination office (OCHA) in Geneva said it had been sent a list of priorities that included field hospitals, mobile bridges, communications equipment and disaster assessment and coordination teams.

After touring the disaster zone, President-elect Sebastian Pinera said ?the situation is worse than expected? and recounted hearing cries for help when he entered a collapsed building not yet reached by rescue teams.

Rescuers with heat sensors and sniffer dogs picked through the debris of shattered buildings in Concepcion and special cameras showed three, perhaps four, survivors trapped in the twisted ruins of a 15-story apartment block.

?We will have to work with the precision of watchmakers,? said fire chief Juan Carlos Subercaseaux. ?May God help us.?

Injured people slept outside for a second night, rattled every so often by an aftershock - there have been a staggering 121 with a magnitude greater than 5.0 since Saturday's quake, which was one of the most powerful ever recorded.

Rosende said the government had purchased all the food in Concepcion?s big supermarkets so it could be distributed for free, and a barge and two Chilean air force planes were expected later with more supplies.

But Pinera said the situation in Concepcion was dangerous: ?When we have a catastrophe of this magnitude, when there is no electricity and no water, the population... starts losing the sense of public order.?

AFP witnessed police firing tear gas as looters set fire to a supermarket and a store. One volunteer was injured as the roof collapsed and firefighters rescued another man from the building covered in flames.

Nothing appeared off limits to the angry mobs as even fire stations were ransacked and a medical clinic pillaged at San Pedro de la Paz, outside Concepcion.

?Here, people are even looting fire stations,? said Conception fire department chief Jaime Jara. ?We understand that people need to eat, but looting hospitals and clinics... How can we serve our people??

The scale of the devastation was still coming to light in seaside towns and villages engulfed by massive waves minutes after the gigantic quake struck at 3:34am (0634 GMT).

State television reported that more than 300 bodies had been found in the swamped fishing village of Constitucion, where survivors stared in disbeliefat
the seaweed clinging to the remains of their homes and businesses.

The government?s national emergency response office said the central Maule region was the hardest hit with 544 fatalities and at least 19 others were still missing but didn't break the figures down any further.

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, on a Latin America tour that will include a brief stop in Chile on Tuesday, said she had spoken with Bachelet and was bringing satellite telephones with her.

?They have asked for communications equipment, some of which I'm bringing on our plane. Other technical equipment will be flown there in addition.?

Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva became the first foreign leader to visit and met with Bachelet briefly at Santiago airport before flying home.

Meanwhile, a small plane carrying a Chilean aid team to Concepcion crashed, killing all six people on board.

Chile, one of Latin America?s wealthiest nations, is better equipped than most to withstand earthquakes, but the damage has still been estimated at between US$15 billion and US$30 billion, or between 10 and 20 per cent of its GDP.

Chile?s stock market fell more than one percent Monday in its first trading since the quake hit.

Sourced = The Channel New Asia