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11 000 people still trapped
18/05/2008 10:07 - (SA)
Beichuan - Rescue workers have
plucked more than 60 more survivors from the rubble following
Monday's massive earthquake in southwestern China, as a strong
new aftershock hit and the death toll rose to almost 30 000.
The United States Geological Survey reported a tremor of 6.1
magnitude early on Sunday centred 80km west of
Guangyuan, the latest in a series of aftershocks to hit Sichuan
province.
The official Xinhua news agency said there was no immediate
word of additional damage or casualties in the area.
In the provincial capital, Chengdu, some 200 km south of the
new tremor's epicentre, buildings swayed and people rushed out
into the streets, risking a soaking from a passing storm.
Thousands remain trapped
At least 56 people were rescued in Yingxiu, close to the
epicentre of Monday's 7.9 magnitude quake, but around 11 000 people are thought to remain trapped, the official Xinhua news agency said.
Soldiers engaged in relief work "have their hands stained
with blood and earth after days of searches in the debris",
Xinhua added.
"I was expecting to see my son's body. I never expected to
see him alive," it quoted Long Jinyu, the mother of one of the
survivors found in the rubble, as saying.
Other people were found alive in Beichuan county, also hard
hit by the earthquake, Xinhua said.
Thousands of people have fled in the Beichuan area amid
fears a lake could burst its banks, hampering rescue efforts
after the deadliest earthquake in more than three decades.
At least one barrier lake, formed after rocks blocked a
river, has burst its banks but caused no casualties, Xinhua
said.
Bad weather
Rescue work has been complicated by bad weather, treacherous
terrain and hundreds of aftershocks.
President Hu Jintao urged emergency workers not to give up
efforts to find survivors. "We should put people first and
saving people's lives is still the top priority of the relief
work," he said.
Hu also praised international help given to China.
"I express heartfelt thanks to the foreign governments and
international friends that have contributed to our quake-relief
work," Xinhua quoted Hu as saying.
Offers of help have flooded in and rescue teams from Japan,
Russia, Taiwan, South Korea and Singapore have arrived.
Donations from home and abroad have topped 6 billion yuan ($858m).China has said it expects the final death toll from the
earthquake to exceed 50 000. About 4.8 million people have lost their homes and the days are numbered in which survivors can be
found.
China has sent 150 ;000 troops to the disaster area, but
roads buckled by the quake and blocked by landslides have made
it hard for supplies and rescuers to reach the worst-hit areas.
- Reuters
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