China quake kills nearly 10,000 in Sichuan province

CHENGDU, China (Reuters) - An earthquake devastatedsouthwestern China, killing close to 10,000 people and trappinghundreds of others under schools, factories and houses whilethe worst-hit area was still cut off from rescuers on Tuesday.

The 7.8 magnitude quake, centred in Sichuan province,struck in the middle of the school day on Monday and toppled atleast eight schools. Chemical-laden factories and at least onehospital collapsed, trapping hundreds more, state media said.

The death toll appeared likely to climb in China's worstearthquake for over three decades as troops struggled on footto reach the worst-hit area of Wenchuan, some 100 km (62 miles)from the Sichuan's provincial capital Chengdu.

Officials said there was no word from three townshipsnearest epicentre in Wenchuan, a hilly county of 112,000people.

About 900 teenagers were buried under a three-storey schoolbuilding in the Sichuan city of Dujiangyan. Premier Wen Jiabao,who rushed there, bowed three times in grief before some of the50 bodies already pulled out, Xinhua news agency reported.

Xinhua said at another Dujiangyan school 420 students weretrapped and workers had so far been able to rescue less than100.

"Not one minute can be wasted," Wen said. "One minute, onesecond could mean a child's life."

In Chengdu, many residents slept outside or in cars,fearing more tremors in the city where at least 45 people diedand 600 were injured.

The government has rushed troops and medical teams to digfor survivors and treat the injured. Sometimes struggling tocontain his emotions, Wen vowed to spare no effort while urgingcrying and injured residents to stay calm.

Severed roads and rail lines blocked the way to Wenchuan,and local officials described crumpled houses, landslides andscenes of desperation.

"We are in urgent need of tents, food, medicine andsatellite communications equipment," the Communist Party chiefof Wenchuan, Wang Bin said, according to Xinhua.

TOWNSHIPS COLLAPSE

Most farmers' homes in two townships had collapsed andthere was no word from the three townships nearest theepicentre, which have a population of 24,000, the report added.So far Wenchuan has reported 15 dead, a number likely to risesteeply.

More than 7,000 may have died in Sichuan's Beichuan QiangAutonomous County, where 80 percent of the buildings weredestroyed, Sichuan television said. Beichuan has a populationof 161,000, meaning about one in 10 there were killed orinjured.

"Even if it means walking in, we must enter the worst-hitareas as quickly as possible," Wen said, according to Xinhua.

But a paramilitary officer marching with a hundred troopstowards Wenchuan described a devastated landscape that islikely to yield many dead and to frustrate rescuers.

"I have seen many collapsed civilian houses and the rocksdropped from mountains on the roadside are everywhere," saidthe People's Armed Police officer Liu Zaiyuan, according toXinhua.

Thunderstorms forecast in Sichuan for Tuesday could makerescue attempts more difficult and dislodge more loose rocks.

Most phone lines in Wenchuan were down and a website forthe region's Aba prefecture said the quake had cut severalmajor highways and communications were largely severed in 11counties.

Landslides had cut off three major rail lines leading toChengdu, stranding 31 passenger trains and 149 cargo trains,Xinhua said, but no casualties had been reported.

The U.S. Geological Survey said the main quake struck at7:28 a.m. British time at a depth of 10 km (6 miles).

Its force was felt across much of China and causedbuildings to sway in Beijing and Shanghai and as far away asthe Thai capital Bangkok.

SHOCK TO REGION

The quake was another shock to the region already trying tocope with the devastation of a cyclone this month in Burma.

Some 1.5 million people in Burma are facing hunger anddisease after the cyclone ravaged the Irrawaddy delta, leavingan official toll of 31,938 dead and 29,770 missing.

The Sichuan quake was the worst to hit China since the 1976Tangshan tremor in northeastern China where up to 300,000 died.

This time the devastation was worst in hilly farmingcountry, where winding roads can be hard travel even in normaltimes. The area is near the famed Wolong panda reserve.

The disaster has come at a bad time for China, which holdsthe Olympic Games in August, and has been struggling to keep alid on unrest in ethnic Tibetan areas.

Tong Chongde, a spokesman for the massive Three Gorges DamProject near Sichuan, said there was no damage to thestructure.

In Shefang city in Sichuan, 6,000 residents were evacuatedafter two chemical plants were levelled, trapping more than ahundred people and spilling corrosive liquids.

In Beijing and Shanghai, office workers poured into thestreets. In the capital, there was no visible damage and theshowpiece Bird's Nest Olympic stadium was unscathed.

Chinese officials and scientists said that Beijing wasunlikely to see more aftershocks, Xinhua reported.

In Washington, President George W. Bush said the UnitedStates was ready to help. The U.N. Secretary-General BanKi-moon as well as Japan, France, Germany and other powers havealso sent messages offering condolences and help.

But for now China is struggling to get its own rescuerswhere they are most needed, and one international aid expertsaid the death toll was likely to rise.

"Our biggest concern is children who were in schools andorphanages when the earthquake hit," said Wyndham James, theChina country director for the Save the Children charity.

"I can imagine the authorities are releasing onlyconservative figures that are likely to grow."

Some 61 people have been confirmed killed in northernShaanxi, 48 in northwestern Gansu, 50 in Chongqingmunicipality, and one in Yunnan province, Xinhua said, citingthe national headquarters of disaster relief.

(Writing by Chris Buckley; Additional reporting by Beijingand Shanghai bureaux; Editing by Stephen Weeks)