PUBLISHED SINCE 1903 VOLUME LXIV NO. 134 Thursday, May 15, 2008 B see live updates at www.scmp.com HK $7.00

Tales of School How you Quake heroism builders leaders can help and survival broke rules tested aftermath A2-3 A4 A5 A5 PLA troops pour into stricken county as No houses left standing in some towns, Wen says the injured must be saved says leader of armed police contingent Survival hopes prevail amid the rubble

...... buildings have been levelled. In the Jane Cai downtown area of the county, one Thousands of rescuers continued to third of the buildings collapsed and pull survivors from the rubble left by the remainder were seriously dam- the earthquake yesterday, as aged. Villages in hills were razed to relief operations got under way at the the ground.” quake’s epicentre. The 4,084 sq km county has six PLA troops streamed into Wen- large towns and seven smaller ones. chuan county – by foot, boat and heli- Xinhua said the situation was not copter – passing survivors, many of as severe as expected, however. It re- them carrying injured loved ones, leased aerial pictures of one town trudging out of the devastated region. showing most buildings intact, some Wenchuan was home to more roads damaged and landslides scar- than 100,000 residents before Mon- ring the surrounding hills. day’s 7.8 magnitude quake struck, In Yingxiu township alone, only but rescuers fear more than half its 2,300 out of about 10,000 people have population may have been lost. so far been confirmed alive. So far, 500 deaths have been offi- The official death toll in Sichuan cially confirmed in the county but an rose to 14,463 as of 2pm yesterday, estimated 60,000 people are missing. Premier Wen Jiabao visit- ed the county yesterday afternoon by Ground zero helicopter and spoke to survivors. , the “The central government will not forget this place,” he assured them. epicentre of ’s “We must rescue the injured people. worst quake in more If the roads are still blocked, we will A child is pulled from the rubble yesterday in Beichuan, one of the areas worst hit by Monday’s quake, raising hopes that more survivors may be found. Photo: Reuters deploy aircraft to transport people than 30 years, has just out. This morning, we sent over 50 begun to count the toll telling survivors being housed in Red “When we first arrived, we could people out of here by helicopters.” ...... Cross tents in Beichuan, his arms hear occasional cries for help from Roads, communications and The population of Wenchuan county wrapped around two little girls. the ruins, but as time went by, the power supplies remain severed in the Other media footage showed cries lowered to whispers and we mountainous area that is bisected by public anger at the rescue effort. feared the children were dying,” a the Min River. In city, the mother of a Xinhua reporter wrote. Military helicopter pilots tried to 100,000 buried student lashed out at the res- Elsewhere, in a tale of hope, rescu- drop soldiers, food and medicine into ...... cue work and media coverage. ers pulled Song Xinyi, 3, from the ru- the area on Tuesday but were defeat- The number of people missing after the “It rained heavily yesterday. No ins of her house, where she had sur- ed by torrential rain. quake one bothered to care about the stu- vived more than 40 hours sheltered Xinhua said the air force para- dents who are buried, not knowing if under the bodies of her dead mother chuted 15 soldiers and some materi- they are alive or dead. The [state and father. She was still conscious als to the area yesterday. But as the media] reporters came here and re- after being pulled out and was able to weather deteriorated, its plan to drop 60,000 ported positive news,” she told Cable tell rescuers her name and age...... another 83 soldiers was cancelled. TV. “They said everything was good. Authorities said conditions for Members of the People’s Armed How ugly it is!” rescue work were expected to im- Police, the first to reach Wenchuan with the Ministry of Civil Affairs put- In city, a man said: “I prove with no rain forecast in today on Tuesday night, reported that casu- ting the total toll in the eight prov- asked a soldier to help my wife get out and tomorrow in Sichuan, the alties and housing conditions were inces most affected by the earth- of the rubble. He told me to talk to his -Wenchuan rail line resum- serious and the county was in desper- quake at 14,866. boss. I found the officer, but he said ing operation and major roads to ate need of medical supplies, food, State media yesterday focused on they had to find the dead people first. Wenchuan under repair. water, quilts and tents. the premier’s visits to the hardest-hit “Why don’t they save the living President Hu Jintao “Eight towns including Yingxiu areas, including Beichuan county first? I don’t get it.” chaired a Politburo meeting in Bei- and Wolong suffered severe losses,” and Shifang, and Dujiangyan In Beichuan county, about 160km jing yesterday, the second held in Wang Yi, chief of staff of the armed cities, where he delivered condo- from the epicentre but said to be the three days to organise relief efforts. police’s 8,740-strong force in Wen- lences, comfort and encouragement. worst-affected area, hopes began to He called on people to be united chuan, told CCTV. “The party and the government dim of finding survivors at a six-sto- to face up to the rigorous challenges “There is basically no housing still are concerned about you. Your pain rey school that collapsed, burying at to save lives and ensure sufficient standing in some towns. All the is our pain,” CCTV showed Mr Wen least 1,000 middle-school students. food, water and other supplies. News Digest

International City City

New Myanmese cyclone threat Two jailed for beating cat to death Cakes and ail The UN warns that another cyclone Two men who beat a cat to death with a wooden If you don’t want to load up on could be forming over Myanmar, pole are jailed for up to four months. Sentencing trans-fats – which doctors say can where up to 2 million people are still driver Tse Wing-wai, 24, and technician Leung harm the heart and make you fat – awaiting food and water after Siu-tung, 19, Principal Magistrate Garry Tallentire you’d better avoid certain brands of Cyclone Nargis. Heavy rains have already arrived described the offence as serious and disturbing. doughnut, cake and chocolate bar. A Krispy in some areas, adding to the misery of survivors Tse was given four months, and Leung was given Kreme doughnut contains more than the of the devastating storm. Full report A16 three. Full report C1 recommended daily maximum. Full report C1

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