7,700 dead in one China town, more troops for rescue operation

Wed, May 14 10:46 AM

Raghavendra Beijing, May 14 (PTI) China poured in more troops into the earthquake-battered southwest Sichuan province today to speed up rescue operations as state media reported that only 2,300 people were believed to have survived out of 10,000 living in a town at the epicentre of the disaster. At least 500 bodies have been pulled out after the emergency workers reached Wenchuan county, the epicentre of the 7.8 magnitude quake that struck on Monday.

The report from official Xinhua News Agency did not say if the 7,700 believed dead Yingxiu town of Wenchuan county were in addition to an already reported death toll of more than 12,000. Around 20,000 soldiers and armed police had landed in the quake-hit areas and another 30,000 were en route by air, road and rail and on foot, Xinhua said.

The Navy has also summoned 2,500 men from the Marine Corps, it said. As rescuers dug through rubble of collapsed homes, schools and hospitals, fears also rose that the toll could go up.

At least 18,000 people were either buried in debris or reported missing in Sichuan province, which alone has accounted for 12,012 deaths and 26,206 injured. It was a moment of relief in an atmosphere of grief when rescuers pulled some 500 people alive out of the debris in Mianzhu county where more than 3,000 people have been killed by the quake.

Some 20,000 people in three villages were still out of reach. PTI.

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