Search and rescue teams are making progress in reaching remote areas of China's Sichuan province, where a powerful earthquake has killed about 200 people and injured more than 11,000 others.
After the quake Saturday morning, state media said hard-hit parts of Lushan county were not reachable by road, with phone services cut off. However, rescuers have since dynamited highways to clear landslide debris, allowing heavy equipment to reach affected areas. Electricity and phone service has been restored to thousands of people.
Thousands of displaced people are living in tent cities set up by the Red Cross. Food and water is being distributed to the homeless.
China's official Xinhua news agency says rescue workers on Sunday saved nine villagers trapped in mountainous Lushan county. Those rescued were all elderly and children, with the eldest being 85 years old and the youngest only two.
Chinese Premier Li Keqiang visited the West China Hospital, a leading medical facility in Chengdu, Sichuan's capital, which has taken in many of seriously injured patients who had been transferred from the quake-hit areas.
President Xi Jinping has ordered all-out measures to rescue victims and minimize casualties following the disaster.
The U.S. Geological Survey says the 6.6-magnitude quake occurred at a shallow depth of just 13 kilometers.
Xinhua said the quake rattled buildings in the provincial capital, Chengdu, 115 kilometers to the east.
The incident brings back painful memories for Sichuan, which suffered a 2008 earthquake that killed more than 70,000 people.
After the quake Saturday morning, state media said hard-hit parts of Lushan county were not reachable by road, with phone services cut off. However, rescuers have since dynamited highways to clear landslide debris, allowing heavy equipment to reach affected areas. Electricity and phone service has been restored to thousands of people.
Thousands of displaced people are living in tent cities set up by the Red Cross. Food and water is being distributed to the homeless.
China's official Xinhua news agency says rescue workers on Sunday saved nine villagers trapped in mountainous Lushan county. Those rescued were all elderly and children, with the eldest being 85 years old and the youngest only two.
Chinese Premier Li Keqiang visited the West China Hospital, a leading medical facility in Chengdu, Sichuan's capital, which has taken in many of seriously injured patients who had been transferred from the quake-hit areas.
President Xi Jinping has ordered all-out measures to rescue victims and minimize casualties following the disaster.
The U.S. Geological Survey says the 6.6-magnitude quake occurred at a shallow depth of just 13 kilometers.
Xinhua said the quake rattled buildings in the provincial capital, Chengdu, 115 kilometers to the east.
The incident brings back painful memories for Sichuan, which suffered a 2008 earthquake that killed more than 70,000 people.