Rescue Operations Stepped up in West China to Find Quake Survivors

Rescue operations have been stepped up for survivors of Chinese quake with emergency teams pouring into Qinghai province, reported BBC.

A day after a deadly earthquake devastated the mountainous region, thousands of homeless people spent the night in freezing temperatures, report said.

Officials put toll at 617 with 9980 people being injured and said that nearly 313 persons are missing, said report.

Rescue workers tore the wreckage with their bare hands and shovels as emergency convoys struggled through sandstorms and sleet, report said.

“Freezing weather, high altitude and thin air have all made rescue efforts difficult,” Hou Shike, deputy head of China International Search and Rescue, was quoted as saying by Xinhua.

At remote locations, situated at an altitude of nearly 13,000 ft more logistical problems popped up due to aftershocks and because phone and power lines were knocked out by he quake, said report.

Officials said that 85% of buildings were destroyed in the township of Jiegu, report said.

In the quake, many school buildings collapsed killing nearly 66 students and 10 teachers and emergency workers were seen removing dust-covered dead infants from rubble, said report.

About 900 people have been pulled out alive since the 6.9-magnitude quake struck Qinghai on Wednesday morning, at the shallow depth of 10km (six miles).

Rescuers saved one girl who was trapped for more than 12 hours under debris, report said.

Wu Yong, a local army commander, said that the death toll could rise ‘as lots of houses collapsed’, said report.

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, which is on the Tibetan plateau.

The civil affairs ministry said that it would also send 5,000 tents, as local officials in Yushu reported a lack of shelter, medicines and medical equipment.