Chances of finding survivors of Chinese earthquake fall

Rescuers in southwest China have been urged to save as many people as possible as the relief effort entered its third day and the chances of finding survivors from Saturday's powerful earthquake in Sichuan province narrowed.

The death toll from the 7.0-magnitude quake has risen to 192, with 23 missing, authorities said.

The rescue effort is at a crucial stage. If found within the first 24 hours, a victim has a good chance of survival, with nearly three-quarters surviving; but after 24 hours, the survival rate drops to 26 per cent on the second day, 20 per cent on the third and just 6 per cent on day four.

A Sichuan provincial government emergency command centre spokesman said that, as of 6pm, 11,470 people were injured, 968 of them seriously. About 1.5 million people have been affected by the quake.

The epicentre was in Ya’an, which is near the focus of the 7.9 earthquake in 2008 that left 90,000 people dead or missing. However, aftershocks, insufficient relief supplies and congested, damaged roads were delaying rescue efforts.

Aftershocks
The region has experienced almost 1,800 aftershocks, the China Earthquake Administration said on its website. The area is mountainous, roads leading to many of the villages destroyed by the quake are narrow and many have been wrecked by landslides. There are growing signs of frustration. Hundreds of survivors pushed into traffic on a main road today, waving protest signs and demanding help.

There have been many eyewitness reports of roads being closed to non-emergency traffic and many are backed up with government vehicles.

On the way to Baoxing, a heavily damaged area about 40km from Lushan, the road was blocked with ambulances, troop lorries, excavators and buses. The only way through was on foot or on motorbike.

Power has been restored to all three counties previously cut off by the earthquake, and some 18,000 soldiers and officers have been sent to the Lushan area, about 1,650km southwest of Beijing, while the ministry of public security has sent more than 2,300 firemen to help with rescue work, the Xinhua news agency reported.

Xinhua quoted President Xi Jinping as saying relief work in the area was being “carried out efficiently” and that “Chinese people can overcome difficulties caused by the disaster”.

The ministry of finance said a billion yuan (€120 million) has been set aside for rescue and relief work.