Search for China quake survivors


A girl is rescued from the rubble of Juyuan school in Dujiangyan



A massive search and rescue operation is under way in south-western China after one of the most powerful earthquakes in decades.
Troops have arrived in Wenchuan county at the epicentre which was largely cut off by the quake - but heavy rain is hampering rescue operations.
Elsewhere in Sichuan province frantic efforts are being made to reach thousands of people under the rubble.
The death toll is now more than 12000 officials say and looks set to rise.






In one city Mianyang near the epicentre more than 18000 people are said to be buried under the rubble and 3629 have been confirmed dead state news agency Xinhua reports.
In the nearby town of Mianzhu at least 4800 people are trapped under the rubble and massive landslides have buried roads to outlying villages Xinhua says.
Premier Wen Jiabao was quick to reach the scene and urged rescuers to clear roads into the worst-hit areas as fast as possible.
"As long as there is even a little hope we will redouble our efforts 100 times and will never relax our efforts" he told crying locals in the badly hit Dujiangyan city south-east of the epicentre.

The health ministry has made an urgent appeal for people to give blood to help the injured.


The BBC's Michael Bristow describes a scene of organised chaos in Dujiangyan - with dazed survivors in the streets in their pyjamas while police try to direct traffic.
He heard the story of one man whose uncle was trapped in the rubble of his apartment building. He was able to speak to him on his mobile phone but could not reach him and was desperately searching for help.
Cries for help
The quake - now upgraded to 7.9 magnitude - struck on Monday at 1428 local time (0628 GMT) and was felt as far away as Beijing and the Thai capital Bangkok.
Strong aftershocks continued to shake the region on Tuesday - keeping nervous survivors from returning to their homes.
The earthquake destroyed many roads


Boulders and landslides are blocking roads in the worst-hit areas and helicopters have been unable to land because of the bad weather.
Beijing has deployed 50000 troops to help with relief efforts but they have not yet all arrived.
About 1300 rescue troops and medics have reached Wenchuan county and immediately started searching for survivors and treating the injured Xinhua reported.
There is no word yet on casualty figures there. Previously the only contact with the area was when a senior government official appealed for outside help using a satellite phone. Across the region schools hospitals and chemical plants were all reported to have been affected.

There were harrowing reports from the scene of a school collapse in Dujiangyan city where 900 students were buried and at least 50 killed.
Teenagers buried beneath the rubble of the three-storey Juyuan Middle School building struggled to break free while others cried out for help.
In Beichuan county some 80% of buildings were reported to have been destroyed.
Meanwhile hundreds of people were reported to have been buried in two collapsed chemical plants in Shifang in Sichuan.
Open response
More than 150 people were killed in the provinces of Gansu and Shaanxi and in Chongqing municipality Xinhua said.
And there are fears for the safety of staff tourists - including a group of 15 British visitors - and the panda population at a giant panda research centre at Wolong in Wenchuan which has not yet been contacted.
But 60 pandas at another breeding centre - in Chengdu - are reportedly safe.

RECENT CHINA QUAKES
March 2008: 7.2 quake in Xinjiang - damage limited
February 2003: 6.8 quake in Xinjiang - at least 94 dead 200 hurt
January 1998: 6.2 quake in rural Hebei - at least 47 dead 2000 hurt
April 1997: 6.6 quake hits Xinjiang - 9 dead 60 hurt
January 1997: 6.4 quake in Xinjiang - 50 dead 40 hurt






China's Olympic Games organisers say they will scale down the route of the torch through the country and there will be a minute's silence when the next leg starts in the south-eastern city of Ruijin on Wednesday.
US President George W Bush expressed condolences to victims' families while the US UK the European Union Japan South Korea and Taiwan reportedly offered aid.
China said it would accept international help to cope with the quake - the worst since 1976 when 242000 people were killed in Tangshan - and offered its thanks.
The government response was praised as "swift and very efficient" by Francis Marcus of the International Federation of the Red Cross in Beijing.
But he added the scale of the disaster was such that "we can't expect that the government can do everything and handle every aspect of the needs".
The BBC's Quentin Sommerville in Beijing says this is one of the most open and speedy responses to an emergency he has ever seen from Chinese state media. The fact the quake was felt in Beijing he says means millions of people will feel connected to the disaster and will be watching TV screens closely to see how the government responds.

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