THE wife of an emergency rescue worker currently in Pakistan as part of a team racing against time to find survivors of the Kashmir earthquake has spoken of her pride.

Self-employed property developer Jonathan Wharrad, of Briar Close in Evesham, is part of a team that has already rescued five people, including a two-year-old boy and his mother.

He has been a volunteer with the charity, Rapid UK for five years.

But because of previous work commitments, this is the first time the 32-year-old has joined an emergency rescue mission.

He has, however, been to Turkey and Spain training local volunteers in search and rescue techniques.

Claire Wharrad said: "I am incredibly proud of Jonathan for sacrificing his time and energies and personal comforts in going to help the people affected by this disaster.

"He is a man of great humanity and sees it as only right that he, who

has so much in this world, should help those who are less fortunate than him."

Mr Wharrad flew out to Pakistan on Saturday accompanied by a team of 25 to 30 volunteers, who are in Islamabad shifting through the rubble of a collapsed 10-storey building.

Mrs Wharrad added: "Rapid UK called around all the active members and asked 'Are you available?' and the answer is either a yes or a no.

"Jonathan was a yes.

"They are out there for as long as they can find people alive. Naturally, I have concerns about Jonathan going to areas following disasters, especially involving such a massive earthquake with the risk of aftershocks ever-present.

"However, I have every confidence in him and in the whole Rapid UK team that they will do all that they can to help rescue people while ensuring that their own safety is not compromised.

"When I think of the suffering of those poor people in the affected countries, having lost everything, my own fears are firmly put into perspective."

Rivals told to make it up and aid the victims

WORCESTERSHIRE MEP Liz Lynne has called on the people of India and Pakistan to forget their differences over Kashmir and help the people of the region in the aftermath of the earthquake.

Ms Lynne, who is a member of the South Asia delegation in the European Parliament as well as the President of the Liberal Democrat Friends of Kashmir group, was speaking in Brussels.

She said: "I am pleased the European Union has committed relief aid to the area. Hopefully the international community will respond with similar donations.

"My condolences go out to all the people who have lost loved ones in this disaster. I hope India and Pakistan can forget their differences and assist the people of the region who are in desperate need of help after this devastating earthquake.

"This is a real opportunity for both Governments to show to the world that they are interested in the people of the region - in Kashmir, Pakistan and India - and not just the political struggle.

"I hope some good can come of this terrible tragedy."

Our shock over scale

of tragedy

THE president of the Worcester Muslim Welfare Association has described as shocking the scale of destruction and loss of life as a result of the Kashmir earthquake.

Malik Mohammed Fayaz said: "This is a very tragic time for the Pakistani community in Worcester as well as our countryfellows all around the world."

Mr Fayaz said the people of Worcester had always shown their generosity to help the victims of natural disasters, such as the Asian Tsunami.

He asked that people, charities and organisations, once again give whatever they can.

Mr Fayaz said: "Because of the magnitude of destruction, I am unable to forecast the level of help needed.

"But judging from the information available, it will require billions of pounds to rebuild the infrastructure which has been completely destroyed. It is sad to say, but the loss of human life will never be replaced."

How to donate

MONEY can be paid into a special bank account set up by the Worcester Muslim Welfare Association. The details are as follows:

Bank: Lloyds TSB, sort code: 30-99-90, account no: 03937181 account Name: Worcester Muslim Welfare Association (WMWA) Earthquake Appeal.

Alternatively, they can phone the following groups:

Red Cross: 08450 535 353

Oxfam: 0870 333 2500.

UNICEF: 0800 037 9797

Muslim Aid: 020 7377 4200

Islamic Relief: 0121 622 0622

Survivors fight over food

Desperate earthquake survivors fought over relief supplies as the first food convoys reached the devastated city of Muzaffarabad in Pakistan, but the help was far from enough and heavy rains held up some helicopter flights to badly hit areas.

An army official said the death toll had climbed to more than 35,000 people.

Many bodies were still buried beneath the rubble, and the United Nations warned of the threat of measles, cholera and diarrhoea outbreaks among the millions of survivors.

"The recovery efforts have been slowed by bad weather and large parts of the region are still inaccessible because landslides have destroyed the road network," said the United Nations.

As the struggle to get aid to those hit by the Saturday's 7.6-magnitude earthquake continued, the French Red Cross was today sending a shipment of 20 tonnes of relief supplies to Pakistan.

An aid flight was expected to leave from an airport in the Champagne region east of Paris to help meet the immediate needs of some 7,000 quake victims.

The aid agency was also expecting to send a medical team on Friday and planes carrying all-terrain vehicles and more relief supplies to cope with the aftermath of the quake.

The aid group said a cargo flight would leave on Friday morning from the airport in Vatry, east of Paris, carrying a mobile clinic with a capacity to care for 30,000 victims for up to four months.

A second flight carrying medical experts was expected to leave from Paris's Charles de Gaulle airport.

Meanwhile, Indian air force helicopters today resumed drops of relief supplies to the survivors of the weekend earthquake in inaccessible areas of the Indian-controlled part of Kashmir, after nearly 12 hours of disruption caused by torrential rains and snow.