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November 22, 2008 6:44:27 AM CST

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Troops Race Clock to Save Chinese Buried Alive

Posted May 14, 08 4:42 AM CDT in World 

(Newser) – China has rushed 50,000 more troops to Sichuan province to help dig for earthquake survivors before time runs out, Reuters reports. Tens of thousands of people are still buried under rubble from Monday's devastating 7.9 quake. Rescuers reaching the hardest-hit areas say the destruction is worse than feared, with the death toll now at 20,000 and likely to keep climbing. "Time is life," said Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao, who's overseeing operations.

Heavy rain means rescuers must struggle through landslides. Aid has been airlifted to areas cut off from the rest of the country, and rescuers have been parachuted into the heart of the disaster zone. Military and police teams battling to reach remote areas say entire towns have been flattened. In Mianzhu, near the epicenter, rescuers pulled 500 people alive from the wreckage of collapsed buildings.

Sources Reuters, AFP

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Rescuers search for survivors at a damaged school following Monday's powerful 7.9 magnitude earthquake in Hanwang town in Sichuan province, China, Wednesday, May 14, 2008.   (AP Photo/Andy Wong)
Rescuers gives a female survivor first aid after pulling her out of a school damaged following Monday's earthquake in Hanwang town in Sichuan province, China, Wednesday, May 14, 2008.   (AP Photo/Andy Wong)
A rescuer saves a girl in the rubble in Beichuan County, just east of the epicenter of Monday's 7.9-magnitude earthquake, southwest China's Sichuan Province Tuesday, May 13, 2008.   (AP Photo/Xinhua, Cong Feng)
Rescuers search for survivors in the earthquake-hit region of Beichuan County, about 160 kilometers northeast of the epicenter in southwest China's Sichuan Province, Tuesday May 13, 2008.   (AP Photo)
Rescuers search for survivors at a damaged school following Monday's powerful 7.9 magnitude earthquake in Hanwang town in Sichuan province, China, Wednesday, May 14, 2008.   (AP Photo/Andy Wong)
Rescuers carry a wounded woman from the debris of a collapsed building after the earthquake in Beichuan county in southwest China's Sichuan province.   (AP Photo/Wang Jiaowen, ColorChinaPhoto)
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China's Premier Wen arrives at Shifang to direct relief work.   (cctvupload)

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China • earthquake • rescue • China earthquake • Sichuan province • disaster zones • People's Liberation Army


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