China in full rescue efforts in quake zone(2)

REACHING ISOLATED AREAS

Besides efforts at the epicenter, rescuers have been struggling to reach isolated and remote townships and villages in the mountainous areas which are edging parts of the Himalayas, where roads are blocked by huge sliding rocks after the quake.

Police rescuers are covering all areas of Lushan County, the epicenter of the quake, and several rescue teams struggled into neighboring Baoxing County, which remains hard to access.

More than 870 firemen have been sent to Baoxing, carrying light rescue equipment and taking 11 sniffer dogs with them.

According to the first firemen who reached the seat of Baoxing County, local residents' homes were "badly damaged, while power and water supplies as well as telecom services were shut off."

Airborne remote sensing images from the Beijing-based Institute of Remote Sensing and Digital Earth, of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, showed more than 60 percent of buildings in the Baoxing County seat had suffered damage.

At least 38 landslide sites were found near the county seat and a number of them were on roads linking the county with other areas, which might affect transport, it said.

More medical teams are working in Lingguan, a main township in Baoxing, after obstructed roads linking Lushan and Baoxing were reopened at about 5 p.m..

Earlier in the morning, telecom signals remained weak and frequently failed so it was difficult for the national health commission to remain in contact with the first two medical teams entering Lingguan, said Liang Wannian, a senior official with the commission.

Many of the injured in Lingguan have been transferred so they can receive better treatment.

The commission plans to airlift more medical workers from Chengdu, capital of Sichuan, using Air Force helicopters, Liang said.

Ten medical teams are standing by at Lushan and will reinforce Baoxing when needed, he added.

Moreover, another national earthquake emergency rescue team arrived Sunday morning at Lushan for disaster relief, the China Earthquake Administration (CEA) said.

The team consists of 200 rescue workers, including 21 seismologists and 39 medical staff, according to the CEA. They have taken more than 30 tonnes of supplies to the quake area.

Rescuers on Saturday reached Qiaoqi, a town in Baoxing, which is largely inhabited by Tibetan people. They found that the damage there was not particularly serious with only one person injured so far, according to Qing Hai, a senior officer of the fire-fighting department of Sichuan provincial police force.

The rescue headquarters also called on volunteers and non-rescue vehicles not to enter this area without permission, in order to avoid additional traffic pressure in the affected areas.

Premier Li stressed strengthening the cooperation between central and local governments, so as to ensure scientific, effective, orderly and vigorous disaster-relief work.

Transportation must be unimpeded, said Li, adding that vehicles in the area should give way to rescue units and medical teams so that they can reach the places that need them.

He ordered releasing accurate information on the disaster situation, quake-relief work as well as death toll and injuries in a timely manner so as to boost people's confidence and thus make them reassured.