yeah and the guy from Khan's in Rodbourne. Recently they had someone attack them with a hammer... now this.
A SWINDON shopkeeper has spoken of the horror he is going through after losing eight of his family in the earthquake in Pakistan. So far the 7.6 magnitude quake which struck Pakistan-controlled Kashmir on Saturday has killed up to 30,000 people, the vast majority of them in Pakistani territory.
But India has also reported several hundred deaths and Afghanistan has said one girl was killed.
Grandfather Azim Khan, 65, owner of Khan's Convenience Store in Rodbourne Road, was devastated when he turned on the television to see his hometown Battal destroyed.
And yesterday he received the call he had been dreading to say that eight of his relatives were dead and another, a 16-year-old boy, is still trapped inside his collapsed school.
Mr Khan, who moved from Battal to Swindon in 1967, said: "I'm completely devastated.
"When we looked at the aerial picture of the area on Pakistani TV everything was flat.
"There is no building left. The police station, the school, the shops everything is completely flat.
"I have been watching the news and every single thing is destroyed. The town has gone."
The members of Mr Khan's family who have lost their lives are the grandchildren of his brother and sister and all of them are aged between one and 16.
He said: "My sister had to walk 15 or 20 miles to get to a phone to tell me. She said that the number dead so far is eight.
"The school has collapsed and one of my grand-nephews is still trapped.
"So far they have got 70 bodies out but the rest are still trapped and they can't get to them now because there has been a landslide."
Mr Khan had recently been on holiday to his birthplace and he says it is impossible to reconcile the images in the media with the place he saw.
"I went back last year and it was nice," he said. "There was a new shopping and tourist centre and I saw all my family.
"Now there is nothing left. It's all completely wiped out."
The rescue operation has swung in to action with China and Japan dispatching emergency teams of rescuers and relief officials while Australia has pledged cash toward recovery efforts.
Mr Khan says he will do everything he can to help the remaining family he has in the disaster area.
"The best thing I can do is collect as much money as possible to send through Muslim Aid," he said.
"I am devastated but our family has lost everything and we must do what we can for them."
To find out more about the charity Muslim Aid visit the website at
www.muslimaid.orghttp://www.thisiswiltshire.co.uk/wiltshire/swindon/news/SWINDON_NEWS0.html
