Survivors face bleak situation as death toll in China quake rises to 620

Survivors face bleak situation as death toll in China quake rises to 620.
BEIJING: Soldiers and civilian rescuers dug into rubble to pull out more dead bodies while saving dozens of people including school children caught under fallen buildings. The death in the 7.1 magnitude earth quake that hit Tibetan dominated Yushu in southwest China's Qinghai province rose to 620 while the number of people injured was officially stated to be 9,000.

The death toll is expected to rise further because rescuers have not yet reached all the affected parts and a large number of people have suffered serious injuries. Attempts were being made to shift the seriously wounded people by road or air but enough transportation was not immediately available.

Officials said over 100,000 people will have to be relocated from the quake hit-zone both because vast areas have been left almost entirely without shelters of any kind and there is fears of after-shocks hitting the place. Survivors who spent the night in the open in freezing temperature had no alternative but to repeat the same experience tonight because the process of relocating them was yet to begin.

Rescue could be reached quickly because Qinghai has several military bases and also has a civilian airport at Yushu. But relief teams were facing serious problems with gusty winds and altitude sickness besides shortage of medical equipment, drugs and blood supplies. Heavy earth moving equipment and bulldozers were being rushed from the provincial capital of Xining, 800 kms away from the affected site, to assist rescuers in their work.

"We have people screaming with pain because of broken hands and legs. We are helpless as there is not enough medicine for all the wounded," a rescue worker said over phone. At least 900 of the injured are in serious condition, reports said.

Headwaters of three of Asia's largest rivers, the Yangtze, Mekong and Yellow, are located in Yushu. There are several hydro-electric projects along the mouth of these rivers making the area vulnerable to flooding in case of breaches in reservoirs.

"A dam has cracked, workers are trying to prevent the outflow of water," the official Xinhua news agency said without identifying the reservoir.

Chinese premier Wen Jiabao has reached the quake devastated area to supervise rescue operations while president Hu Jintao is cutting short his South American tour to return to China.

International aid agencies including the Red Cross have swung into operation to assist government authorities but the remoteness of the area was making the situation difficult. Initial reports said 10,000 bags of blood plasma have already been rushed by the Red Cross.

The local television showed relief workers saving a young girl who spent 12 hours trapped in debris. The quake toppled buildings, the local office of the Communist Party and damaged Buddhist stuppas and monasteries in the largely Tibetan region.