Rescuers race to reach quake survivors in Qinghai province

More than 600 people have been killed and thousands more wounded after a 6.9-magnitude earthquake struck a remote mountainous area in China’s north-western Qinghai province on Wednesday.

The death toll is expected to rise further, as rescue teams and villagers struggle to free thousands of people trapped under the rubble in freezing temperatures, equipped with little else than their bare hands, picks and shovels.

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A team of 5,000 rescuers is on location, including 700 soldiers. According to FRANCE 24 correspondent Henry Morton, efforts have focused on the ruined town of Jiegu, 50 km west of the quake’s epicentre, with a population of 100,000.

Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao  travelled to the Yushu prefecture of Qinghai province on Thursday, China National Radio reported. Meanwhile Chinese President Hu Jintao, who is currently in Brazil for a top a key summit for top emerging economies, has canceled a scheduled trip to Venezuela in order to return home to deal with his country's devastating earthquake.
 

Rescue efforts race against time

Nearly 10,000 people are injured, almost 1,000 of them severely, while hundreds remain unaccounted for. Survivors faced with icy winds, sleet and sandstorms have no shelter to turn to, and were forced to spend the night in the street. Some spent the night in their cars, or set up tents on a flat area just outside town, according to state television. Local officials have spoken of the urgent need for medicine and shelter to avoid greater loss of life.

“The Chinese government reacted quickly to the quake, but rescue efforts are severely hampered by conditions on the ground,” explained Morton, reporting from Beijing. “Jiegu only has one small airport with very little aviation fuel available. Rescue planes are forced to carry extra fuel on them, which greatly reduces the space for aid supplies,” he reported.

Bringing supplies in by road has also proved very difficult, with landslides caused by the quake blocking access to the already remote region. “There is an aid convoy with ambulances and heavy-lifting equipement on its way from the regional capital of Xining, which is at a 10 to 15 hour drive on a good day. In weather conditions as poor as [today’s], the convoy is making very slow progress,” explained Morton.

"Very remote region" Henry Morton in Beijing

High altitudes in the quake-struck region, situated more than 4,000 metres (13,000 feet) above sea level on the Tibetan plateau, will further hinder rescue efforts, Chinese media reported.

The Chinese government announced on Wednesday that it would provide 29 million dollars in aid for the quake-hit area. Several other countries, including France, the US and Japan, have also offered to assist in aid efforts, although it is not certain whether China will accept.

Memories of Sichuan

For many Chinese, images from Yushu recall the devastating May 2008 earthquake in Sichuan province, which killed 80,000.

Volunteers and donors traded information on Twitter accounts, while Tibetans and Chinese living in Beijing organised an impromptu fundraiser near the Chinese capital's largest Tibetan Buddhist temple.

“The government has clearly learnt the lessons from Sichuan, but unfortunately, no matter how well-prepared the country is for rescue operations, logistically speaking the transport difficulties of getting aid to such a remote area make it an extremely difficult task to undertake,” reported Morton.