DEYANG, CHINA — A strong aftershock hit China's battered Sichuan province Friday, causing landslides, knocking out telephone lines and burying vehicles, according to state media. There were no immediate reports of deaths.
The magnitude 5.5 temblor struck at 1:25 p.m. and had its epicenter in Lixian County, further complicating the job of getting aid into nearby Wenchuan County, the epicenter of Monday's massive quake.
The aftershock, the latest in a series this week, could be felt in Chengdu, a major city 75 miles to the southeast.
"I was using the computer on the second floor when it hit, and jumped up and ran," said Yu Ping, 21, a hotel worker in Chengdu, the provincial capital. "I was so scared, I can still feel it."
Throughout the quake zone, rescue teams rushed to isolated mountain villages and previously inaccessible communities, hoping to save those still trapped under the rubble. Several people reportedly were pulled out alive, but after four days most of those recovered were dead.
Provincial officials put the latest death toll at 22,069, nearly 3,000 higher than the day before; the national government has said it expects the figure to reach 50,000. The officials also said there were 14,000 people still buried, 159,000 injured and 4.8 million homeless.
But statistics went only so far in portraying the effect of the earthquake. Hospitals were a study in the misery of people injured and homeless.
"I dragged my daughter-in-law outside our house; otherwise, she would be dead," said Cui Xiangyu, a 63-year-old farmer, pointing to the woman, whose fingers were smashed and chest badly bruised. Cui, her own leg smashed, was sharing a three-bed room in Deyang People's Hospital No. 2 with her daughter-in-law and three other patients.
"Our house is completely destroyed and many in our neighborhood in Xintian died," Cui said. "We even lost our pigs, which were worth $120."
President Hu Jintao flew in Friday for a firsthand look, visiting Mianyang, about 60 miles from the epicenter of Monday's magnitude 7.9 quake. A sports stadium in the town had become a massive collection point for quake victims from around the region.
"The challenge is still daunting, the task is still arduous, and the time pressing," Hu said, according to the New China News Agency.
Beijing has allocated $772 million for quake relief, according to the central bank's website, nearly five times the amount as of two days earlier.
