MEMBERS of the Muslim community in Bournemouth are rallying round to send aid to friends, family and fellow worshippers in Pakistan after the weekend's devastating earthquake.

Bournemouth Islamic Centre and Central Mosque in St Stephen's Road will be taking donations in the weekly collections on Friday, which will be distributed to charities linked with the mosque.

Muslim charities such as Interpal will then send out money, food and clothes to the disaster zone hit by the earthquake which shook cities in Pakistan, India and Afghanistan and has killed approximately 30,000 people already.

Director of the Mosque Majid Yasin told the Daily Echo: "We will look for help from anybody. This is a natural disaster and anyone is welcome to come in to our mosque and give a donation."

A second group in Queens Park is appealing for people to donate to Muslim charity Humanity First who have already dispatched one container of medicine and blankets to the region, and contributed £30,000 to relief efforts.

Group member Sara Nasser, 20, whose parents run their own mosque in their house for Muslims in the Queens Park area, added aid was vital.

"We know people out there who are safe but we also have friends here who are worried sick having not heard from friends and relatives," she said,

"We urge people to give what they can to Humanity First, which is a registered charity and has its own website."

The British Red Cross has sent its South West Emergency planning co-ordinator, Neil Brown, to the stricken area.

As he prepared to depart for Pakistan he said: "People who donate money in the UK can be assured that we will seek to maximise the impact of their donations."

For donations visit: www.redcross.org.uk or www.humanityfirst.org.uk

First published: October 11