China quake kills nearly 10,000 in Sichuan

DUJIANGYAN, China (Reuters) - Nearly 10,000 people werekilled by the earthquake that hammered southwest China,officials said on Tuesday, as rescuers struggled to reach theworst-hit areas where many more may have died.

The toll from China's worst earthquake in three decadesappeared sure to rise as troops struggled on foot to reach theepicentre, Sichuan province's Wenchuan, a hilly county about100 km (62 miles) from the provincial capital Chengdu.

Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao, who rushed to Sichuan, orderedroads to Wenchuan, completely cut off by Monday's 7.9 magnitudequake, to be opened by midday, the official Xinhua news agencyreported.

But rain and thick clouds meant that military helicoptersdispatched to the area could not yet land, and if the weatherremained overcast soldiers would try to parachute in.

In the Sichuan city of Dujiangyan -- about midway betweenChengdu and the epicentre -- there were scenes of devastation,with buildings reduced to rubble and bodies in the streets,some only partially covered.

Troops and ambulances thronged the streets, and militarytrucks able to do heavy lifting had arrived. But many residentssimply stood beside their wrecked homes, cradling possessionsin their arms, and many huddled in relief tents under heavyrain.

"At least 60 or 70 old people lived there, as well aschildren," said a hospital worker surnamed Huo, gesturing to abuilding in ruins. Mattresses and household objects could beseen poking through the rubble.

"How could they survive that?" she asked.

Rescuers had worked frantically through the night, pullingbodies from homes, schools and factories and hospitalsdemolished by the quake, which rolled from Sichuan across muchof China. In the same city, about 900 teenagers were buriedunder a collapsed three-storey school building. Premier Wenbowed three times in grief before some of the first 50 bodiespulled out, Xinhua news agency reported.

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

At a second school in Dujiangyan, fewer than 100 of 420students survived, Xinhua reported.

The initial tremor, which the U.S. Geological Surveyupgraded to magnitude 7.9 from 7.8, was followed by a series ofaftershocks, which shook the area through the night.

"Some are still very strong," said a Dujiangyan residentreached by telephone. "We have put up tents outside to sleepin."

"TIME IS LIFE"

China's benchmark stock index opened down more than 3percent after the quake, which forced the suspension of tradingin the shares of 66 companies, but quickly recovered someground, trading down 0.4 percent at 3:06 a.m. British time.

China's Communist Party leadership announced that copingwith the devastating quake and ensuring that it did notthreaten social stability were now the government's priorities.

"Time is life," said an official announcement from theCommunist Party Standing Committee. "Make fighting theearthquake and rescue work the current top task."

Officials must speed food, water, medicine and othernecessities to quake-stricken areas, the meeting ordered.

"Strengthen positive guidance of opinion," the meetingurged, warning against the spread of rumours.

The Sichuan quake was the worst to hit China since the 1976Tangshan tremor in northeastern China where up to 300,000 died.Then, unlike now, the Communist Party kept a tight lid oninformation about the extent of the disaster.

Neighbouring areas were also affected, with 150 reporteddead in Longnan city of the northwestern province of Gansu andschool collapses in the municipality of Chongqing.

In Gansu, the quake caused a train to derail, spillingpetrol tanks and sparking a fire, Xinhua reported.

In Sichuan's Shifang, where the quake sparked a majorchemical leak, about 600 people died and as many as 2,300remained buried, Xinhua said. Two chemical plants collapsed,causing more than 80 tonnes of liquid ammonia to leak out.

In Chengdu, many residents slept outside or in cars asaftershocks were felt through the night in a city where atleast 45 people died and 600 were injured.

Local radio broadcast appeals for people to leave theircars at home to make way for emergency vehicles.

"At this time of disaster, we are one family," radio said."We are confident that under the leadership of the Party,families can be reunited and we can leave this nightmare."

Wenchuan officials described crumpled houses, landslidesand scenes of desperation. Xinhua said some half a millionhouses in the area had collapsed.

A paramilitary officer marching with a hundred troopstowards Wenchuan described a devastated landscape.

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

(Writing by Chris Buckley and Lindsay Beck; Editing by KenWills and John Chalmers)