Firefighters rescue 27 quake survivors, relief materials dispatched

Firefighters have pulled out 29 people from collapsed structures, including 27 survivors, in Lushan county, the epicenter of the 7.0-magnitude quake that hit southwest China's Sichuan Province Saturday, the Ministry of Public Security (MPS) said.

Lushan county firefighters have almost concluded search and rescue efforts in the main districts of the county seat and are in the process of moving to townships, according to the MPS.

The fire corps of Sichuan Province has sent a reinforcement team of 615 firefighters with 110 fire-fighting vehicles and six sniffer dogs, as well as one medical team to the quake-hit region.

The Ministry of Civil Affairs has dispatched relief materials to the ground, including 30,000 tents, 50,000 cotton blankets and 10,000 make-shift beds.

Other central government ministries are also carrying out relief work.

A national medical emergency response team consisting of more than 180 doctors is rushing to the quake-hit area.

The medical team was assembled by the National Health and Family Planning Commission, and it will take mobile hospitals with them.

Earlier, the Ministry of Public Security has also dispatched a command team to the ground.

The China Meteorological Administration (CMA) has launched an emergency response, ordering the update of latest weather conditions for the quake-hit region.

The CMA has also ordered close satellite monitoring of the quake-hit region and disaster analysis.

The CMA's National Meteorological Center forecasted that it will mainly be overcast in Lushan, the epicenter, during the next three days. It will rain occasionally with slight winds, and the temperature will between 16 and 23 degree celsius.

A work team comprising of officials from eight ministries, including civil affairs, health, transport and others, has rushed to the epicenter to direct quake-relief work.