A LEADING firefighter has spoken of the heartbreak faced by East Lancashire men trying to rescue people from the rubble of the India earthquake disaster.

Three firemen are due home from India today after playing a crucial part in rescuing victims from the rubble of homes ravaged by last week's massive earthquake.

Their boss, Ged Richmond, said his men had never witnessed anything like it before.

Leading firefighter Ged, who is based in Burnley, and two colleagues from Blackburn -- station officer Andy Barnes and firefighter Mark Southworth -- have played a crucial part in rescuing people in the wake of the massive quake, which hit the Indian subcontinent last Friday and measured 7.9 on the Richter Scale.

They are among a group of 11 firefighters from Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service who were flown out to Gujarat on Saturday and have helped rescue several people, including a 28-year-old woman who was trapped under the rubble of a five-storey building.

Ged, who lives in Burnley; Andy, from Oswaldtwistle and Mark, from Darwen, had been due to home yesterday, but Peter Halleron, leader of the Lancashire team in Bhuj -- the epicentre of the earthquake -- said: "Since live casualties, though few, are still being found and rescued we decided to stay for another 24 hours, with the indications that we would be travelling home to the UK today. Whether we stay longer has yet to be discussed.

"There are now 10 rescue teams from various countries at work in and around Ghandhidham, 50 kilometres away, but we found no survivors there so we returned to Bhuj.

"It is absolutely heartbreaking to witness tragedy of this magnitude and since we only manage three hours sleep each night we are all exhausted.

"That said, the boost we get from finding someone alive and reuniting them with their loved ones spurs us on to greater effort."

Meanwhile, leaders of the Pakistani community have people to raise funds for those left homeless.

The earthquake Appeal for India was launched at the weekend by Moulana Ahmed Sidat, chairman of the Lancashire Council of Mosques.

Since details of the appeal have been released, cash has flooded in, although no total is available yet.

Today, Blackburn Councillor Mohammed Akhtar said: "We are more than happy to help the appeal.

"I know of a lot of people who have been asking how they can help and offering me money to pass on. I would ask them to put it into the appeal.

"This is a dreadful tragedy which has shocked us all. I have relatives in Pakistan and know how easily it could have been my family involved."

The bank account for the Appeal is at the National Westminster Bank in Eanam, Blackburn. The Account number is 14010593, using sort code 01-00-85.