China quake death toll rises to 32,476, rescue efforts continue, quake creates three lakes

China announces three-day mourning for quake victims, suspension of torch relay

www.chinaview.cn 2008-05-18 19:03:41

BEIJING, May 18 (Xinhua) --

Flags are to be kept at half-mast and all public amusements will be suspended for three days from Monday as China begins an official mourning period for victims of the May 12 earthquake.

The State Council, the Cabinet, on Sunday ordered a nationwide display of respect for the dead. The Olympic torch relay will also be suspended from Monday to Wednesday, the Olympic organizing committee said.

China's diplomatic missions abroad were also ordered to observe the order, and condolence books are to be opened in the Foreign Ministry and Chinese embassies and consulates around the world.

The public are asked to stand in silence for three minutes from 2:28 p.m. on Monday, while automobiles, trains, and ships would sound their air sirens.

The order was issued in a brief circular that contained no further details.

TORCH RELAY SUSPENSION

The Beijing Olympic torch relay Ningbo Organizing Committee also announced Sunday that the torch relay would be put off for three days until May 22.

Lao Jinlong, vice president of the Ningbo Municipal Sports Bureau in east China's Zhejiang Province, said "All the public entertainment activities will be cancelled during the three days of mourning, including the torch relay."

The Ningbo leg is the fourth leg of the torch relay in Zhejiang province.

The death toll from the powerful earthquake rose to 32,477 nationwide as of 2 p.m. on Sunday, while the number of injured reached 220,109, according to the emergency response office under the State Council.

Lakes overflow in earthquake-hit county

www.chinaview.cn 2008-05-18 11:59:43

QINGCHUAN, Sichuan Province, May 18 (Xinhua) --

Three barrier lakes, which were formed by the blocking of a river in quake-hit Sichuan Province, overflowed Sunday morning but have caused no emergencies, local rescue headquarters said on Sunday.

The three lakes, formed in Qingchuan county, had a volume of more than 10 million cubic meters, said an official with the headquarters for quake relief of Qingchuan County.

More than 20 million cubic meters of rocks slid after a 7.8 magnitude earthquake on May 12 and formed the lakes.

Nearly 60,000 people live in seven towns and a county seat in the lower reaches of the three lakes.

The county has decided to allow natural overflowing and artificially divert water to ensure safety.

Many barrier lakes formed after the earthquake.

There had been no burst of reservoirs in the quake-hit areas, the headquarters' team in charge of water facilities said.

Liu Ning, Ministry of Water Resources' engineer-in-chief, told Xinhua on Saturday some water facility projects, such as reservoirs and hydroelectric stations, suffered damages after the quake.

To prevent disasters, the ministry has dispatched 25 work teams to check affected reservoirs.

Editor: Pliny Han

China quake death toll rises to 32,476 by 14:00 Sunday

www.chinaview.cn 2008-05-18 16:22:37

BEIJING, May 18 (Xinhua) --

The death toll from magnitude 8.0 earthquake that jolted southwest China's Sichuan Province had risen to 32,476 nationwide as of 2 p.m. Sunday, the emergency response office under the State Council said Sunday evening, correcting a previous figure of 32,477.

The number of injured reached 220,109, it said.

In Sichuan alone, a total of 31,978 people were killed since Monday's deadly 7.8-magnitude earthquake, with 209,905 others injured.

Statistics from the emergency response office show that the death toll in Deyang and Mianyang cities of the province hit 10,341 and 11,874 respectively.

The office also gave a breakdown of the death toll in other areas as 4,156 in Chengdu, 2,586 in Guangyuan, 2,871 in Aba and 23 in Ya'an.

Outside Sichuan, the death toll was 364 in Gansu Province, 113 in Shaanxi Province, 16 in Chongqing Municipality, two in Henan Province, one in Yunnan Province, one in Hubei Province, and one in Hunan Province.

Six days after China quake, rescuers still determined in search for survivors

www.chinaview.cn 2008-05-18 12:21:18

CHENGDU, May 18 (Xinhua) --

Exhausted rescuers have pulled out more survivors who had been trapped for six days in the rubble left by Monday's devastating southwest China earthquake.

A man was rescued at 3:36 pm on Sunday from his collapsed office building in Maoxian county, about 50 kilometers northeast of the epicenter Wenchuan County.

Shen Peiyun, 50, miraculously survived after 146 hours in the rubble. He suffered head injuries and was sent to Huaxi Hospital affiliated to Sichuan University in Chengdu.

Doctors said he had a "very good chance" of recovery.

Shen was conscious and clutched the hand of a People's Liberation Army doctor throughout his 30-minute trip by helicopter to the provincial capital Chengdu, China Central Television reported.

Rescuers confirmed two more victims, a man and a woman, are still alive in Yingxiu town of Wenchuan County. Glucose and drinking water have been dripped down into the rubble, but it is difficult for rescuers to reach them quickly.

Sunday also witnessed the miraculous survival of Tang Xiong, who was pulled from a collapsed hospital of Beichuan County at 9:15 a.m., 139 hours after the quake.

Tang, who suffered slight bruises, was still conscious when he was pulled out, said rescuers. His wife was rescued on Thursday.

Also in Beichuan, one of the worst-hit counties in the 8.0-magnitude quake, another man was rescued at 9:55 p.m. on Saturday from a collapsed building, 127 hours after the tremor.

Wu Jianping had been sent to a hospital for treatment, said sources with the Chengdu Military Command on Sunday.

A group of soldiers from the Chengdu Military Command discovered Wu at 8a.m. on Saturday and rescue efforts concluded at 9:55 p.m.

The same group of soldiers had rescued 13 stranded survivors after they arrived at quake-hit regions on Wednesday.

In Dujiangyan, a quake-hit city near the epicenter Wenchuan County, Zhang Xiaoping, 46, was pulled from a collapsed residential building at about 11:06 p.m. Saturday, after being buried for almost 129 hours.

Before he was rescued, doctors were forced to amputate Zhang's lower legs firmly stuck in the rubble after other rescue plans failed.

Two doctors managed to get into the tight space and carried out the amputations in about an hour.

Zhang, who was still conscious, was carefully carried out by firefighters amid applause and immediately sent to hospital for further treatment.

However, despite the joint rescue efforts, he died at 1:05 a.m. in hospital due to heart failure.

Monday's quake, the strongest to hit New China, had killed 32,477 people as of 2 p.m. on Sunday, including 31,978 in Sichuan. An additional 220,109 people were injured nationwide, according to the emergency response office of the State Council.

A 61-year-old woman, who had been buried for 127 hours, was saved from a ruined dormitory building in Dujiangyan by Russian rescuers late Saturday night.

She was the first survivor found by a foreign rescue team.

Although the time for the best chance of rescue, the first 72 hours after an earthquake, had passed, "saving people's lives is still the top priority of the relief work", President Hu Jintao said on Saturday night.

"We should put people first," Hu told local government and central government department officials at an overnight meeting in Chengdu.

Hu flew to Sichuan on Friday from Beijing to inspect and oversee relief work in the worst-hit areas.

The government has mobilized rescue staff to conduct thorough searches in quake-ravaged villages for possible survivors and to never give up.

Qian Gang, author of the book Tangshan Earthquake, said 72-hourperiod was just an average time, as many people had survived for much longer.

Qian, who spent ten years interviewing survivors of the Tangshan earthquake that claimed more than 240,000 lives in 1976 in Hebei Province, said it was possible that people could live after being buried for more than eight days if they had the will to survive.

He cited the case of an elderly woman who drank her own urine to sustain her for 13 days until rescuers pulled her out of the debris.

Editor: Song Shutao

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