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China scales up rescue operation China scales up rescue operation
(about 2 hours later)
China is mobilising 30,000 extra troops and 90 helicopters to help with the rescue operation after Monday's devastating earthquake.China is mobilising 30,000 extra troops and 90 helicopters to help with the rescue operation after Monday's devastating earthquake.
About 10 million people in Sichuan province have been directly affected by the 7.9 quake that flattened entire villages, state media said.About 10 million people in Sichuan province have been directly affected by the 7.9 quake that flattened entire villages, state media said.
Nearly 15,000 people are known to have been killed, and another 26,000 are still trapped in the rubble.Nearly 15,000 people are known to have been killed, and another 26,000 are still trapped in the rubble.
The extra troops will bring food and water, and help rescue survivors. The extra troops will bring food and water, and help to rescue survivors.
The official toll for the number of dead now stands at 14,866, Xinhua news agency reports. They will add to the efforts of tens of thousands of soldiers already despatched to the region to dig any remaining survivors out of the rubble and bring food, medicine and drinking water to those made homeless.
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New footage of when earthquake struck, filmed by motorcyclist in Chengdu The Chinese military plans to conduct large-scale airdrops of food, clothing and blankets over the worst-hit areas, including the districts of Beichuan and Wenchuan.
Soldiers have begun to reach the isolated epicentre by helicopter and on foot, bringing much needed supplies. The helicopters are needed because many of the roads in the mountainous area near the epicentre have been badly damaged by the earthquake or have been covered by landslides.
Officials reached the town of Yingxiu, in Wenchuan County, to find the devastation was worse than expected - out of the town's population of 10,000, only 2,300 were found alive.
The head of a police unit sent into the disaster zone said the losses had been severe.
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"Some towns basically have no houses left," Wang Yi, told Sichuan Online news site. "They have all been razed to the ground." The relief effort has also been hampered by bad weather, while an aftershock was reported in Yingxiu, a town close to the quake's epicentre where more than three-quarters of the 10,000 residents perished.
The BBC's Michael Bristow says there are collapsed buildings all along the road to the nearby city of Beichuan. As of Wednesday evening local time, three remote villages in the mountains in Mianzhu county had not yet been reached because roads were blocked, according to Xinhua news agency.
The extra troops are also being sent to shore up dams that may have been damaged by the earthquake. A local resident who had walked out of one of the villages, Quinping, said half of the village's population of 2,000 was injured, and survivors were in need of medicine and drinking water, the agency reported.
On Wednesday troops were deployed to Zipingku dam, to repair cracks caused by the earth tremors. Few survivors
It has now been pronounced stable and safe, but there are concerns for almost 400 other dams in the area. The head of a police unit sent into the disaster zone said the losses had been severe.
No damage has been reported to the massive Three Gorges Dam, also in Sichuan province. "Some towns basically have no houses left," Wang Yi told Sichuan Online news site. "They have all been razed to the ground."
The official toll for the number of dead now stands at 14,866, Xinhua news agency reports.
It is three days since the earthquake hit and the number of survivors being rescued is dropping.
See a detailed map of quake zoneSee a detailed map of quake zone
Stadiums have been put to use to house the displaced. The head of China's Seismological Bureau, Liu Yuchen, said 82 survivors had been dug out of debris on Wednesday, including a pregnant woman.
Meteorologists are forecasting a small break in the poor weather that has hampered aid efforts. Rescuers took six hours to pull another person out, he said.
Helicopters have now been able to fly into the quake zone to take food, drinking water and medicine to Yingxiu - one of the towns in the mountainous area where the quake was centred. Tens of thousands of people made homeless are staying in tents and makeshift shelters that line the streets of ruined towns and villages.
But the weather remains cloudy and more rain is expected at the end of the week, said the National Meteorological Centre. In the town of Hanwang survivors were seen at the side of the road begging for food and water from passing cars, the Associated Press reported.
Slow effort The Chinese government says it has allocated another 250m yuan ($35m) for aid, bringing its disaster spending to 1.11bn yuan ($159.
China's Prime Minister Wen Jiabao has flown to the epicentre to see relief work, having met survivors elsewhere. Members of the public have also donated millions of yuan in both cash and goods.
RECENT CHINA QUAKES March, 2008: 7.2 quake in Xinjiang - damage limitedFebruary 2003: 6.8 quake in Xinjiang - at least 94 dead, 200 hurtJanuary 1998: 6.2 quake in rural Hebei - at least 47 dead, 2,000 hurt April 1997: 6.6 quake hits Xinjiang - 9 dead, 60 hurtJanuary 1997: 6.4 quake in Xinjiang - 50 dead, 40 hurt class="" href="/1/hi/world/4126809.stm">How earthquakes happen class="" href="/1/hi/world/2059330.stm">History of deadly earthquakes Far from the earthquake zone in Shanghai, Beijing and Guangzhou, people have been giving blood and donating clothing.
The government has despatched tens of thousands of soldiers to the region to dig any remaining survivors out of the rubble and bring food, medicine and drinking water to the survivors. Relief organizations in Taiwan are also sending two plane loads of relief materials and volunteers to south-west China.
Roads in the mountainous area have been badly damaged by the earthquake or have been covered by landslides. Around 150 tons of goods - including tents, sleeping bags and blankets - are being sent in the first two cargo flights, donated by several Taiwanese religious and charity groups.
Many soldiers and rescue workers have been making their way to cut off areas by foot. Others have parachuted in or have arrived by helicopter.
Workers are digging through the rubble of collapsed buildings with their bare hands.
Rescue workers now say hope is beginning to run out for more than 1,000 people thought to be trapped in a collapsed school building in Juyuan township, near Dujiangyan.
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