ARMENIA (COLOMBIA), Jan 28: As chaos grew in quake-devastated western Colombia, President Andres Pastrana headed to the worst-hit city of Armenia to direct the relief effort, which has been hampered by shortages of food.Also yesterday, authorities dispatched scores of additional military police to try to restore order to the streets in Armenia, where hungry survivors clashed with police and stripped supermarket shelves clean. The toll from Monday's earthquake in western Colombia reached 878 dead and more than 3,410 injured yesterday, Red Cross spokeswoman Maria Perrelet said. That number was expected to rise as more debris was cleared.Hundreds of residents broke into stores in Armenia and carried away liquor, furniture, appliances and food. Some threw rocks at police in riot gear trying to stop the mayhem. At least six civilians, including a local TV reporter, were injured by stones. Rescue workers arrived from Britain and the United States to help find survivors and pull bodies from hundreds of downedbuildings in this city of 300,000 people. Using heavy machinery, rescuers uncovered corpses throughout Armenia, but hope of finding new survivors was dwindling fast.With need overwhelming supplies, Armenia's residents took matters into their own hands, breaking down the gates of a downtown supermarket and stealing rice, cooking oil, flour and rum. Debris fell from the upper reaches of the damaged four-storey building housing the store, sending looters fleeing into the street.
