More than 50,000 military and police personnel have been mobilized for relief operations following the 7.8-magnitude quake that hit Sichuan province on Monday.
About 20,000 People's Liberation Army (PLA) soldiers and armed police had arrived in disaster-hit areas by yesterday evening, with about 30,000 reinforcements on the way by land or air, the information department of the Ministry of National Defense has said.
Troops yesterday traveled by foot into Wenchuan county, the epicenter of the quake, as most roads and bridges had been destroyed. The air force also canceled parachuting troops to Wenchuan because of heavy rain in the area.
Detailed information on the rescued was not yet available.
However, PLA soldiers and police were visible in most of quake-hit areas that media were able to reach.
In parts of the quake-hit cities of Dujiangyan and Mianyang, soldiers removed debris and dug out victims by hand, as damaged roads had prevented bulldozers and rescue equipment from entering the areas.
A 300-strong taskforce also made its way into Wenchuan county after walking through miles of muddied mountainous path.
Zhao Picong, an officer with the publicity department of the Chengdu Military Command that covers Sichuan and several neighboring provinces, said his fellow soldiers were pushing ahead with the rescue efforts "at all costs".
More than 30 helicopters and 8,600 troops were already in the areas yesterday, he said.
"Our troops didn't even assemble. We started off immediately after receiving the order," Zhao told China Daily.
"There is no time to hesitate or feel the pressure. It's an extremely urgent situation and we're going into full gear."
Zhao also said he was concerned about a lack of medical staff and poor traffic and telecommunication connections. He was unable to contact some of his troops yesterday.
But as reinforcements arrive and infrastructure gets restored, rescue efforts will move more efficiently, Zhao said.
PLA Chengdu Military Command said yesterday they will start parachuting once the weather improves today.
The Central Military Commission has also called on the army to view rescue and relief efforts as "the most imperative and significant political task at present".
"All the troops in the relief efforts should break conventions, take exceptional measures, and race against time to get in place as soon as possible," the commission ordered.
Source: China Daily
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