Troops to battle postquake looting in Peru

PISCO, Peru — The government sent the army Saturday to stop looting fueled by rising desperation in earthquake-shattered Peru, where tens of thousands were without fresh water and shivering families huddled in makeshift shelters at the center of the devastation.

In a soccer stadium in the port city of Pisco, more than 500 people rushed a lone truck that ran out of packets of crackers, candy and toilet paper, screaming that they had not eaten and accusing rescue workers of keeping supplies for themselves.

As many as 80 percent of the people in quake-hit urban areas may not have access to clean water and many rural communities still have not been reached to assess the damage, said Dominic Nutt, of the relief agency Save the Children.

President Alan Garcia sent 1,000 troops to stop the looting. "We're going to establish order, regardless of what it costs," he said.

Meanwhile, Defense Minister Allan Wagner said the death toll from Wednesday's magnitude-8 quake had risen to 540, up from the previous figure of 510 provided by firefighters.

Destruction from the quake, which also injured at least 1,500 people, was centered in the cities of Ica and Pisco in Peru's southern desert, about 125 miles southeast of the capital, Lima.

Garcia said at least 80,000 people were affected in some way, mostly through the destruction or damage of homes.

At one end of a soccer field in Pisco, families who had lost everything huddled in a half-dozen shelters made of cardboard and blankets held up by wooden poles.

"We don't have water. The tents have not arrived," said Maria Tataja, 38, who shared an open-fronted shelter with nine other people.

Some people complained of price-gouging and said the cost of basic foods had doubled or tripled at the local market.

Soldiers stood guard at supply depots and tried to ensure that aid trucks made it to their destinations.

Miguel Soto, a police officer standing guard in the Pisco stadium, said food donated by one Lima district had been raided on the traffic-clogged highway to Pisco. Many other food trucks simply weren't getting through, he said.

Rescuers continued to pull bodies from the rubble of the San Clemente church in downtown Pisco, where hundreds had gathered for Mass when the quake struck Wednesday.

Local media reported Saturday that a 10-month-old boy had been pulled alive from the ruins of the church seven hours after the earthquake.

Romulo Palomino said he discovered the infant in a pile of broken timbers. The baby's parents have not been located, and Palomino and his wife are taking care of him for now, Andina news agency reported.

But hopes of finding more survivors diminished.