SHIFANG, China -- Rescue workers in China uncovered a small miracle on Saturday -- 33 people pulled to safety after being trapped for 119 hours under the debris from Monday's 7.9-magnitude earthquake.
The 33 were found in Beichuan, near the epicentre of the quake, Reuters reported.
Another earthquake shook Sichuan province on Saturday, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. The 6.1-magnitude earthquake, which follows scores of slightly less strong aftershocks during the week, was nearly 80 kilometres deep and hit 80 kilometres west of Guangyuan.
The quake occurred as thousands of Chinese fled their homes on Saturday amid fears a lake could burst its banks, hampering rescue efforts.
Everywhere you go in the quake-affected areas of China now, there are fatigue-clad soldiers, digging through the rubble for survivors, clearing roads, securing badly damaged buildings, dams and bridges, erecting shelters, handing out food and even directing traffic.
China has mobilized more than 130,000 troops to deal with the deadly earthquake in Sichuan province that has now left 28,881 dead and injured 198,347 people. That's more than twice the number of troops that are in Canada's whole armed forces.
And the soldiers are just part of the impressive rescue and relief operation that is in full swing six days after the earthquake.
The majority of the soldiers are involved in immediate disaster relief, but even now you can see that planning has begun for the medium-term crisis that is looming large.
Alongside the Shifang regional rescue headquarters, the soldiers have converted a stadium into a tent city to house survivors. It's more permanent- looking than the long lines of hastily erected tarps, covering rows of beds, that line the roadsides throughout the quake zone, and just one of hundreds of camps that are now being erected.
About 50,000 people now live in tents in Shifang and more are struggling down from mountain villages every day. They are among the 4.8 million people China so far estimates are homeless. That's almost half the population of the quake zone, an area about two-thirds the size of Alberta.
-- Canwest News Service
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