Aid slow to reach quake-hit Iranian villages

KOUIK, Iran: Iranian survivors of a powerful earthquake that killed more than 400 people pleaded Wednesday (Thursday in Manila) for water, tents and other emergency supplies as aid trickled into remote villages near the Iraqi border.

The government ordered rescuers to keep searching for people trapped under rubble after the 7.3-magnitude quake which struck the mountainous region late Sunday, toppling buildings and leaving thousands homeless.