3:30pm UK, Friday November 22, 2002

Thousands slept in the open in bitterly cold conditions overnight in Pakistan's mountainous north as tremors continued following a major earthquake that killed 23 people, officials said.

Landslides seriously hampered relief work, blocking access roads to valleys high in the Karakorum mountains close to the Nanga Parbat peak, they said.

180 relief aid pakistan earthquake 22/11/02

Relief aid for quake zone

"People have been lying out in the open sky at night, afraid to go indoors," Muhammad Ali Yugvi, a government official said. 

"I was also woken up by tremors that were felt all night long," he said.

Pakistan's military-led government has flown hundreds of tents, thousands of blankets and other emergency goods to the main northern town of Gilgit.

The Karakorum Highway, linking the capital Islamabad with China, was blocked for about 10 days after a powerful quake on November 2, which killed 17 people in the same region.

"We had hardly been able to clear it when these new quakes brought massive landslides," Mr Yugvi added.

Army helicopters were bringing in emergency aid and bringing out wounded people from the three worst affected villages, he said.

Yugvi said that at least 1,000 houses in the region might have been damaged or destroyed, and more tents and blankets were needed.