Death Toll Tops 500 in Peru Quake

Aug. 17, 2007 — -- Hundreds of bodies have been pulled from the rubble of homes in Peru's southern towns of Pisco and Chincha after Wednesday's devastating earthquake.

Officials said the death toll topped 500 across the region hit by the magnitude 8 quake, and at least 1,500 people were injured.

This morning there will be new efforts to get the most seriously wounded patients from Peru's southern towns and villages to hospitals in Lima.

A special flight path has been set up to transport the most dire patients to the country's capital.

A grandmother described standing in her bedroom, holding her newborn granddaughter, as the quake hit.

"The walls were caving in around us," she said in Spanish.

Hundreds of worshippers were killed in the San Clemente church in the port town of Pisco after the church's tall ceiling gave way.

Not far away, in one wing of a hospital 26 patients were killed.

Complicating the rescue efforts, a major highway in the area buckled during the quake. Half of the road fell about 30 feet, making travel nearly impossible.

For the survivors, the situation is dire. There is no clean water and no power in many areas.

The mayor of Chincha says 2,000 homes in his communities were destroyed, and residents who lost their homes will have to sleep outside, at the mercy of the weather.

Many families in the region are already poor, making it even more difficult for them to recover.