GENEVA, Oct 29: The International Committee of the Red Cross said on Wednesday its two teams had reached the quake-affected areas of Balochistan to assess the situation and needs of the affected people.

“There is no clear information yet on the number of dead or injured but initial reports indicate that hundreds of people may have been killed or wounded and that thousands may be without shelter,” said Andrew Bartles-Smith, who leads an ICRC team in Quetta.

The teams had reported that aftershocks were continuing and residents were staying outdoors in the cold, he said.

The ICRC is also planning to send medical kits to the region, with a surgical and medical team to fly in from Peshawar on Thursday.

The Pakistan Red Crescent Society has dispatched two teams to the region to distribute relief supplies for 100 families.

The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies are also sending a support team to the region, including a disaster management expert, a health specialist and an information officer.

The Turkish Red Crescent Society said it was ready to send humanitarian assistance to Pakistan.

Two experts had already been dispatched to quake-hit areas, the organisation said in a statement.

“All preparations are ready in order to rush any materials to the region that could be needed by those affected,” it said.

The Turkish Red Crescent still has staff in Pakistan as a result of operations to help victims of the Oct 8, 2005 quake which killed 74,000 people and displaced 3.5 million in Kashmir and parts of the NWFP.

In Washington, the United States offered to send humanitarian relief. “We are deeply saddened to learn about the earthquake... Our sympathies go out to the victims of this tragedy as well as to those who have been displaced by it,” State Department spokesman Sean McCormack told reporters.

“We are currently working with the Pakistani government, the UN (United Nations) and other potential donors to assess the damage,” he told the daily press briefing.

The World Health Organisation said it was sending enough medical aid and supplies for 50,000 people for three months to help victims of the earthquake.

The WHO said in a statement it was also flying trauma supplies stored at the UN Humanitarian Response Depot in Dubai to treat 400 people.

The European Union said it was ready to send humanitarian help to victims of the earthquake.”

I was shocked to hear the news about the earthquake which struck south-western Balochistan earlier today,” EU External Affairs Commissioner Benita Ferrero-Waldner said in a statement.

In Berlin, the Foreign Ministry said 250,000 euros ($315,000) would be available to relief organisations to supply tents, blankets and food to the devastated area.

Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier, who had visited Pakistan on Tuesday for political talks, sent a message to his Pakistani counterpart, Shah Mahmood Qureshi voicing condolences to the victims.

—Agencies