Hundreds of bodies found in quake rubble

Authorities clearing mountains of rubble left by India's worst earthquake in 50 years have recovered over 400 decomposed bodies…

Authorities clearing mountains of rubble left by India's worst earthquake in 50 years have recovered over 400 decomposed bodies.

Over the past few days, soldiers have been able to dig deeper into the rubble using hand tools and large cranes.

The work is less delicate than while they were searching for survivors, and they have more heavy equipment available.

The Gujarat state government says it has recovered nearly 18,000 bodies - 15,785 from the Bhuj area. Unofficial estimates put the death toll at around 30,000.

READ MORE

Soldiers working in Bhuj on Saturday discovered a collection of more than 3,000 rare gold, copper and brass coins from a collapsed house, along with the body of the owner, the Press Trust of India quoted army major R C Joshi as saying.

The coins had inscriptions in the Urdu, English and Afghani languages. They will go to the state government, which is expected to keep them in a museum.

Fresh tremors, meanwhile, shook parts of the state earlier. No injuries were reported.

Reuters