March 2, 2010 10:40 AM

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Chile calls for international aid following earthquake

Chile called for international aid today as the anguished calls of trapped quake survivors pierced the rubble and police had to arrest 160 looters for defying overnight curfews.Troops deployed alongside police in Concepcion, the country's second city and the worst-hit urban area, while the toll from Saturday's 8.8-magnitude quake and the resulting tsunami that swept coastal towns rose to 711. After touring the disaster zone, President-elect Sebastian Pinera said the situation is worse than expected and recounted hearing cries for help when he entered a collapsed building not yet reached by rescue teams. Rescuers with heat sensors and sniffer dogs picked through the debris of shattered buildings in Concepcion and specially designed cameras showed three survivors trapped in the twisted ruins of a 15-story apartment block. Aftershocks rattled shell-shocked citizens — 127 since the quake at last count — and Pinera said he had seen sick people sleeping out in the open under the open sky. State television reported that more than 300 bodies had been found in the swamped fishing village of Constitucion, where survivors stared in disbelief at the seaweed clinging to the remains of their homes and businesses.

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