Peruvians pull more bodies from quake rubble

Survivors of a devastating earthquake in Peru fought over scant supplies of food and water yesterday as rescue teams continued to pull bodies from the rubble three days after the quake killed more than 500 people.

A series of aftershocks rattled nerves in the hardest hit coastal areas south of the capital Lima, where desperate residents looted emergency supply vehicles and stores for food and clothing.

"The supply trucks go by and the anguish of watching them pass without giving us anything forces us to stop them and take what we need," said Reyna Macedo, a 60-year-old mother of seven who lost her home in Wednesday's magnitude 8.0 quake.

Earthquake victims complained that food and water supplies have been slow in reaching them and accuse local stores of raising prices to cash in on the shortages.

Police and troops patrolled areas worst affected by the quake - the towns of Pisco, Ica and Chincha - and President Alan Garcia warned that looters would be punished. More police and soldiers were ordered into the towns yesterday.

More than 33,000 families lost their homes in the quake and about 1,000 people were injured. Many of the victims perished after their flimsy mud-brick homes caved in.