China aftershock triggers landslides
The magnitude 5.5 tremor in the Sichuan region, the latest in a series, further complicates rescue efforts at the epicenter of Monday's earthquake.
DEYANG, CHINA — A strong aftershock hit China's battered Sichuan region today, causing landslides, knocking out telephone lines and burying vehicles, according to state media.
The magnitude 5.5 tremor struck at 1:25 p.m. in Lixian, further complicating the job of getting aid into nearby Wenchuan, 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. There were no immediate reports of deaths.
"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. "It was so scared, I can still feel it."
Across the quake zone today, 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 five days most of those recovered were dead.
Sichuan provincial officials put the latest death toll at 22,069, nearly 3,000 higher than the day before, though the national government had previously said it expected the figure would eventually reach 50,000. The officials also said there were 14,000 people still buried, 159,000 injured and 4.8 million homeless.
But statistics only went so far in portraying the effect. Hospitals were a study in the misery of people both 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 the woman and three other patients.
"Our house is completely destroyed and many in our neighborhood in Xintian died," Cui added. "We even lost our pigs, which were worth $120."
President Hu Jintao flew in today for a firsthand look, visiting Mianyang, about 40 miles from the epicenter of the magnitude 7.9 quake. A sports stadium in the town had become a massive collection point for refugees 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 about $5 billion for rescue relief efforts.
