MUZAFFARABAD, Pakistan: U S goodwill envoy Karen Hughes and three of America's top business leaders flew to the heart of Pakistan's earthquake zone today to see first hand the urgent need for more aid.

The delegation was sent by U S President George W. Bush to raise awareness of the scale of the suffering and acute need for shelter, food, sanitation and health care in the mountains of Pakistani occupid Kashmir (POK) as winter closes in on the region.

The group, including the chief executive of the world's largest drug maker, Pfizer Inc. arrived in a U S military helicopter amid the ruins of Muzaffarabad, capital of POK.

Provided with a heavy U S and Pakistani security escort, the visitors' first stop was a girls' school destroyed by the October 8 quake, where USAID has given two large tents for teachers to restart classes for dozens of pupils.

''People in America care very much about the girls and boys and people of Pakistan and that's why you have probably seen some of the helicopters trying to bring help,'' Hughes, a former Sunday school teacher, told two seven-year-old girls as she sat crossed-legged with them.

The Under Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs was appointed in July to polish the United States' image overseas, especially in Islamic nations like Pakistan.

TEMPERATURES FALLING The weather was warm and sunny, but temperatures are falling and snow covered some Kashmiri peaks, raising fears many people could die from cold and illness during the winter.

''There were 40 children in my class and the walls were tumbling down. Thank God we got them out.'' Hundreds of children escaped, but 84 perished along with eight teachers.

The U S party also visited a tent village run by a private Pakistani company, where several thousand people were sheltered in close to 500 tents. The visitors handed out tarpaulins to help protect people from the coming winter rains and also saw people using water purification sachets provided.

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