Anger mounts as aid fails to arrive for Peru quake victims

0 Comments | AFP, August, 2007

CHINCHA, Peru (AFP) — Hundreds of desperate residents, angered by the slow arrival of food, water and shelter two days after a massive earthquake flattened their homes, besieged city hall officials here Friday.

Some 2,000 people gathered in the town square screaming at officials, who were unable to tell them when help would begin to trickle in.

Behind the crowd, a funeral procession passed by as mourners walked behind solemnly to the melancholic sounds of a trombone player.

The death toll in this town of 300,000 people from the 8.0 magnitude quake which struck the coastal region late Wednesday is still not known, but three funeral processions paraded by during the angry demonstration.

The San Jose hospital told AFP they had 71 dead and more than 300...