China's Hu Flies to Quake Zone; 30,000 Remain Buried (Update4)

May 16 (Bloomberg) -- Chinese President Hu Jintao flew to Sichuan to speed up rescue operations after this week's earthquake killed more than 22,000 people and left thousands more buried with diminishing hope of finding them alive.

Hu arrived in Mianyang city about 1,500 kilometers (932 miles) southwest of Beijing to talk to soldiers and other rescue workers and console survivors, state-run Xinhua News Agency, which gave the latest death toll, said today. The toll from the May 12 earthquake, the most powerful to hit China in more than half a century, may reach 50,000 with more than 100,000 injured, Xinhua reported.

``The challenge is still severe, the task is still arduous and the time is pressing,'' Xinhua cited Hu as saying during the flight. ``Saving lives is still the top priority of our work.''

The government has deployed more than 130,000 soldiers and relief workers and 110 helicopters to find as many as 30,000 people still buried and injured in the mountainous province. Sichuan's vice governor, Li Chengyun, said 27,560 people have been rescued so far.

The Housing Ministry today ordered local authorities to investigate whether substandard construction was the reason behind the widespread collapse of schools. Almost 7,000 schools were among 216,000 structures that were destroyed, according to the ministry's latest tally.

China's government said more than 4.7 million houses were destroyed by the quake in the three worst-hit provinces of Sichuan, Gansu and Shaanxi.

Pulled From Rubble

Three girls were pulled from the ruins of their school in the town of Beichuan at about 4:30 a.m. local time today, more than 86 hours after they were buried, as onlookers cheered.

``After 72 hours the chance of survival with no food and water is only about five percent,'' said a soldier in Beichuan who is from neighboring Yunnan province and would only give his surname of Chen. ``The chance of finding more survivors is very slim.''

Two more people were pulled alive from an office building in Beichuan after 1 p.m. and a nurse was rescued at about 2:20 p.m. today, Xinhua reported.

Beichuan, where more than 5,000 are confirmed dead, is 121 kilometers northeast of the quake's epicenter and was almost completely leveled.

Rescue workers and troops are trying to bring lifting equipment across the mountainous terrain to reach thousands of survivors who may be under debris. The road to Beichuan was choked with traffic as volunteers drove trucks carrying food, water and blankets to the area.

Saving Lives

``Even though 72 hours have passed we must still consider saving lives as our most immediate and most important task,'' Sichuan's Li said at a news conference in Chengdu. ``We also need to treat the injured, rebuild damaged infrastructure as soon as possible and ensure the basic needs of people are met.''

The quake has directly affected about half of the 20 million people in the region, Xinhua said. The central government has allocated 3.41 billion yuan ($488 million) for relief and recovery, the Ministry of Finance said today.

The relief operation, one of the biggest China has mounted, may escalate as officials check damage to reservoirs and hydro- electric stations near the epicenter. The government allocated 193 million yuan of emergency funds to repair dams after an agency said 391 hydroelectric dams were in a ``dangerous condition.''

Checking Dams

The government is trying to carry out the inspections before the summer wet season arrives. Rain held off for another day allowing helicopters flights to drop supplies to villages in remote areas. The China Meteorological Administration today warned there is a high risk of landslides in the area. Conditions are forecast to be cloudy today with some showers tomorrow, it said.

An aftershock of magnitude 5.9 hit the region at about 4:30 p.m., triggering landslides and burying cars, Xinhua reported.

The Baocheng rail line, the main track in the country's central region has re-opened after a tunnel was cleared, the Railways Ministry said today. More than 2,200 railcars loaded of relief and military supplies will be moved to the region today.

Japanese relief workers arrived in the area today, Xinhua said. Other countries are sending rescuers after the Chinese accepted offers of international assistance. The government earlier said it wouldn't accept outside help.

Taiwanese Planes

A chartered freight flight from Taiwan reached Chengdu, the capital of Sichuan which is about 1,500 kilometers southwest of Beijing, carrying blankets, tents and clothes.

Taiwanese planes are also flying to the region to collect more than 700 tourists stranded in the quake zone. More than 1,400 overseas tourists are safe in the areas hit by the quake, Xinhua said today.

Russian planes also delivered aid to the quake area and rescuers and medics are on the way from China's northern neighbor, the news agency said. The government also accepted offers of aid from South Korea and Singapore, Xinhua reported.

Li Wenliang, a counselor at the Foreign Ministry, said it marks the first time the government has accepted foreign professionals to help domestic disaster rescue and relief efforts.

China requested advice from the U.S. on infectious disease control in the wake of the earthquake, Health and Human Services Secretary Michael Leavitt said at a news conference today in Beijing. Leavitt is in China to discuss food and product safety efforts. The U.S. has assembled experts on the issue through the Centers for Disease Control and has begun consultations, he said.

Positive Response

``Everything I know about the Chinese response is positive,'' Leavitt said. ``It is clear to me that they have mobilized all their resources.''

The 7.9-magnitude quake was the world's strongest since an 8.5-magnitude temblor struck Indonesia in September, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.

It was the most powerful to hit China, the world's most populous country with 1.3 billion people, since a magnitude-8.6 quake struck Tibet in 1950. That quake left 1,526 people dead, while a 7.5-magnitude temblor in Tangshan in the northeast killed 250,000 in 1976, according to the USGS.

State television yesterday showed footage of Premier Wen Jiabao visiting affected villages and speaking to survivors and rescuers through a megaphone, as he did in January during the worst snowstorms in half a century.

Wen Returns

``So many children perished, I'm very saddened,'' Wen told survivors in Qingchuan county in comments broadcast on state television. ``I know there are still many injured and hurt. You are facing great difficulties in your lives. We are mourning for the dead, but at the same time we have to stand together, use our hands to rebuild our homes.'' Wen returned to Beijing today, Xinhua reported.

In the county, more than 200 students were confirmed dead after the school dormitory where they were taking an afternoon nap collapsed, Xinhua reported. An estimated 89 students are still buried, while 139 escaped, the agency said.

The 1,200-year-old Leshan Buddha, about 300 kilometers from the epicenter, was undamaged.

To contact the reporters on this story: William Bi in Dujiangyan at wbi@bloomberg.net; Eugene Tang via the Beijing bureau on eugenetang@bloomberg.net.

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Paul Tighe at ptighe@bloomberg.net