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China earthquake rescue steps up China earthquake rescue steps up
(about 1 hour later)
Emergency teams have been searching the rubble for survivors, a day after a deadly quake devastated part of China's mountainous Qinghai province. Emergency teams have been searching the rubble for survivors of a deadly earthquake which devastated parts of China's mountainous Qinghai province.
Thousands of homeless people have spent the night in freezing temperatures.Thousands of homeless people have spent the night in freezing temperatures.
Officials say 617 people died and 9,980 were injured when the quake hit early on Wednesday; 313 remain missing. Officials say 617 people died and 9,980 were injured when the quake hit early on Wednesday - 313 remain missing.
Rescuers continue to search with their bare hands and picks, as heavy lifting equipment rolled towards the Yushu county disaster zone. Rescuers continued to search with their bare hands and picks as emergency convoys and heavy lifting gear poured into the Yushu county disaster zone.
Long columns of military vehicles carrying diggers and other equipment, along with busloads of rescue workers and lorries full of aid, rumbled all night along the 1,000 km-long (620-mile) motorway separating Yushu from the provincial capital, Xining. The remote location, which sits at an altitude of around 13,000ft (4,000m), was posing logistical difficulties for disaster-response teams.
At night, people were crying and shouting Ren Yu Eyewitness in Jiegu Some of the people have broken legs or arms but all they can get now is an injection, they were crying in pain Ren Yu Eyewitness in Jiegu
The first of the vehicles are due to arrive in the remote disaster zone within hours. "Freezing weather, high altitude and thin air have all made rescue efforts difficult," Hou Shike, deputy head of the China International Search and Rescue, told official news agency Xinhua.
Relief flights carrying medical workers and supplies have been landing in Yushu airport but the road to the town of 70,000 people has been blocked by a landslide, the Associated Press news agency reports from Qinghai's provincial capital, Xining. The rescue was also being hampered by the fact that the quake disrupted telecommunications, knocked out electricity and triggered landslides.
In the township of Jiegu, 85% of buildings were destroyed, officials say, and state TV has been showing street after street reduced to rubble. Several schools collapsed and at least 66 pupils and 10 teachers were among the dead, Xinhua reported.
Several schools collapsed and at least 56 students are known to have died, 22 of them in a school in Yushu. Harrowing photographs showed emergency workers removing dust-covered dead infants from rubble.
Chinese President Hu Jintao has called for an all-out effort to save as many people as possible and some 5,000 rescuers, including 700 soldiers, have been sent to the disaster area. State broadcaster CCTV showed anxious parents waiting overnight outside Yushu Vocational School, where 22 students, mostly girls, were reported dead.
The civil affairs ministry said it was to send 5,000 tents, 50,000 coats and 50,000 quilts as local officials in Yushu reported a lack of tents, medicines and medical equipment. The scenes of flattened schools echoed the destruction of the quake that hit neighboring Sichuan province two years ago, leaving nearly 90,000 people dead.
China has received messages of sympathy and offers of aid from foreign states including Japan, Russia and France. Shoddy construction and lax building rules were blamed in that disaster, infuriating grieving parents.
Rescued after 12 hours Shallow quake
Chinese TV showed rescue workers with flashlights searching rubble through the night, in low temperatures, as aftershocks continued. About 900 people have been pulled out alive since the 6.9-magnitude quake struck on Wednesday morning, at the shallow depth of 10km (six miles).
About 900 people have been pulled out alive since the quake struck at 0749 on Wednesday (2349 GMT Tuesday), at the shallow depth of 10km (six miles), Chinese media say. Rescuers saved one girl who was trapped for more than 12 hours under debris.
It was measured as magnitude 6.9 by the US Geological Survey while the China Earthquake Networks Centre measured it as 7.1.
A group of workers found a girl trapped for more than 12 hours under a heap of debris.
"I can't feel my arm," she said as some rescuers talked to her and fed her water while others searched for pieces of wood to prop up the rubble that had entrapped her.
As she was carefully pulled out carried her to a stretcher, she could be heard saying: "I'm sorry for the trouble. Thank you, I will never forget this."
Wu Yong, a local army commander, said the death toll could rise "as lots of houses collapsed".
Rescue operations were being hampered by the fact that the quake disrupted telecommunications, knocked out electricity and triggered landslides.
'Cries of pain'
In Xining, soldiers, fire-fighters and rescue workers with sniffer dogs thronged the airport, which closed to civilian flights for several hours to make way for relief planes.
Efforts were being slowed down by the lack of jet fuel stored at Yushu airport. Relief planes are having to carry extra fuel, limiting their space for supplies.
RECENT DEADLY QUAKES Feb 2010: Magnitude 8.8 quake in central Chile kills at least 450Jan 2010: About 230,000 die in magnitude 7.0 tremor in HaitiApril 2009: Quake measuring 6.3 in L'Aquila, Italy, kills 300 peopleMay 2008: 87,000 die in 7.8 scale tremor in Sichuan province, ChinaOct 2005: Quake measuring 7.6 hits north Pakistan, killing 73,000 History of deadly earthquakes 'No link' between Chinese quakesRECENT DEADLY QUAKES Feb 2010: Magnitude 8.8 quake in central Chile kills at least 450Jan 2010: About 230,000 die in magnitude 7.0 tremor in HaitiApril 2009: Quake measuring 6.3 in L'Aquila, Italy, kills 300 peopleMay 2008: 87,000 die in 7.8 scale tremor in Sichuan province, ChinaOct 2005: Quake measuring 7.6 hits north Pakistan, killing 73,000 History of deadly earthquakes 'No link' between Chinese quakes
As local officials struggled to find accommodation for the thousands of people left homeless, weather forecasters were predicting wind and sleet in the coming days, putting victims at risk of exposure. As she was placed on a stretcher, she could be heard saying: "I'm sorry for the trouble. Thank you, I will never forget this."
Luo Song, a monk from a monastery in Yushu county, said his sister who worked at an orphanage there had told him three children were sent to a hospital but the facilities lacked equipment. Wu Yong, a local army commander, said the death toll could rise "as lots of houses collapsed".
"She said the hospitals are facing a lot of difficulty right now because there are no doctors, they have only bandages, they can't give injections, they can't put people on intravenous drips," he told AP by phone from the southern Chinese city of Shenzhen. Chinese President Hu Jintao called for an all-out emergency effort and some 5,000 rescuers, including 700 soldiers, have been sent to the area.
In Jiegu, hotel manager Ren Yu said it was like being in a war zone. The civil affairs ministry said it would also send 5,000 tents, as local officials in Yushu reported a lack of shelter, medicines and medical equipment.
"It's a complete mess," he said. In the township of Jiegu, 85% of buildings were destroyed, officials say.
"At night, people were crying and shouting. Women were crying for their families. Some of the people have broken legs or arms but all they can get now is an injection. They were crying in pain." A hotel manager in Jiegu, Ren Yu, said it was like being in a war zone.
Harrowing photographs on Wednesday showed emergency workers removing dust-covered dead infants from rubble. "Some of the people have broken legs or arms but all they can get now is an injection," he said. "They were crying in pain."
The high-altitude region is prone to earthquakes but, according to the US Geological Survey, this was the strongest tremor within 100km of the area since 1976. Forecasters predicted wind and sleet in the coming days, putting homeless victims of the tremor at risk of exposure.
In 2008, a huge quake struck neighbouring Sichuan province, about 800km from Yushu. That left 87,000 people dead or missing and five million homeless. The region is prone to earthquakes but, according to the US Geological Survey, this was the strongest tremor within 100km of the area since 1976.
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