As many as 15,000 people were believed to have been killed in the earthquake that devastated the western Indian state of Gujarat, the general secretary of the country's ruling BJP party said Saturday.
Narendra Mody told AFP that 13,000 died in the Kutch region of Gujarat, and 2,000 elsewhere in the state.
The quake, measuring between 6.9 and 7.9 on the Richter scale struck at 8:46 am (0316 GMT) on Friday, with the epicenter located 20 kilometers (12 miles) northeast of Bhuj township in Kutch.
"We still do not have precise figures for the number of dead," Pandya said, adding that communication links had yet to be restored to several regions.
The state police control room in Ahmedabad put the official state-wide toll at 2,300, with 14,000 injured, but added that the final figure would be significantly higher.
"This is just a figure for the number of bodies that have been identified," said sub-inspector Ramesh Chandra.
Gujarat has a population of around 42 million, of whom about 3.6 million live in Ahmedabad.
In the worst-hit town, Bhuj, which has a population of around 150,000, estimates of the number of dead varied between 1,400 and 3,000.
In Ahmedabad, dawn was greeted with relief by rescue workers who had been operating under floodlights or often in pitch darkness.
"The rescue operation went on uninterrupted throughout the night," said the city's top civil official, K. Srinivasan.
"Our main focus now is some of the multi-storey buildings which were destroyed and where many people are still believed to be trapped," Srinivasan said.
Special efforts were being made to reach 30 children believed trapped in a collapsed school building.
Distraught parents remained at the site throughout the night, as rescue workers continued the delicate task of removing the rubble without causing a further collapse.
With the emergency services stretched, much of the rescue work was being carried out by volunteers, who voiced frustration at the lack of equipment and back-up from the authorities.
"One fire engine came and went back saying they couldn't do anything," said one volunteer, Mihia Chopra.
"Even to get a gas cutter we had to run from one end of the town to another," Chopra said.
The quake hit on India's Republic Day, a national holiday, so many people who would normally have left for work were instead at home.
Outside Ahmedabad, the destruction was widespread, and officials said they feared many villages near the epicenter had been completely flattened.
Gujarat is in an earthquake-prone zone, but cost-cutting means that buildings are rarely structured to withstand quakes.
The last major earthquake to hit India was in March 1999. Measuring 6.8 on the Richter scale, it killed 100 people in the Himalayan foothills.
Friday's temblor was the largest since a quake registering 8.5 struck the northeastern state of Assam in 1950, killing 532 people -- AHMEDABAD, India (AFP)
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