Pakistani villagers gather outside the remains of their homes in Ziarat that were destroyed by an earthquake on Wednesday. The magnitude 6.4 quake struck before dawn killing at least 215 people, injuring many more and leaving an estimated 15,000 homeless. Reports from outlying areas were still coming in, so the number of dead and injured is likely to rise.

WAM, Pakistan — Soldiers handed out blankets, tents, jackets and sleeping bags to earthquake survivors in the frigid mountains of southwestern Pakistan on Thursday, as a provincial official reported that the death toll had risen to 215.

The 6.4-magnitude quake hit an area of Pakistan's Baluchistan province near the Afghan border before dawn Wednesday, demolishing an estimated 2,000 homes in a string of villages.

Officials today declared the rescue phase of the operation over after residents and emergency workers mounted a final search for survivors or bodies buried in the rubble.

With reports still coming in from outlying areas, provincial government minister Zamrak Khan said the number of dead had risen to 215 and that hospitals were still treating dozens of seriously injured people.

The army airlifted supplies and medical teams into the hard-hit Ziarat district, where an estimated 15,000 people were left homeless in the region, which is some 6,561 feet above sea level.

Officials said several thousand people spent Wednesday night in tent camps erected by the military. But soldiers were unable to reach all outlying areas before temperatures plunged to around the freezing point.

In the hillside hamlet of Kawas, soldiers distributed blankets, tents and sleeping bags to an impatient crowd of 500 people and helped load two dozen trucks with supplies destined for other areas.

Dozens of people had slept in the open near the rubble of their simple mud and stone houses.

The International Committee of the Red Cross said it was distributing some 2,500 tents while a medical team with one ton of supplies was helping at overcrowded hospitals.

"Overall, we think the situation is under control though there is urgent need for shelter and blankets because it is freezing up there," Red Cross spokesman Marco Succi said.

The need for shelter was high because many people were too scared to sleep even in undamaged homes as aftershocks continued to rattle the region, he said.

The latest quake comes at a precarious time for Pakistan, with the civilian government battling al-Qaida and Taliban attacks as well as a looming economic crisis.

At least three hard-line Islamic organizations were quick to aid quake survivors, according to an Associated Press reporter who toured the area.