By John Ruwitch
HANWANG, China (Reuters) - Transport planes dropped moreaid for dazed survivors of China's massive earthquake onThursday but hopes began to fade for some 25,000 buried underrubble despite heart-warming rescue successes.
The Communist Party leadership told officials to "ensuresocial stability" as Monday's 7.9 magnitude quake insouth-western Sichuan province spawned rumours of chemicalspills, fears of dam bursts and scenes of collectivedesperation.
The official death toll estimate from the quake stands at14,866, but that is expected to rise given the tens ofthousands still buried.
About 130,000 army and paramilitary troops assisted thesearch and rescue effort, sifting through towns turned torubble. One 22-year-old woman was trapped, unhurt but unable tomove, in the city of Dujiangyan, waving at the cameras andwaiting for tonnes of a ruined hospital above her to be lifted.
"I'm still alive and I'm very happy," she said. "I'm happyyou have come to save me -- don't worry, I'll protect myself."
Rescuers in the city wrapped corpses dragged from therubble in tarpaulins and sped them to morgues. They were sobusy that a notice outside one collapsed school asked parentsto search for missing children in shifts.
But three days after the quake, hopes of pulling survivorsfrom the ruins dimmed and the waves of rescuers appear to behampered by lack of specialised equipment.
WANTED LIST
The strains from tens of thousands of homeless are growing.
"There is enough food but not enough water. We have onlyhad bottled mineral water the past few days, nothing to cookwith," said Wang Yujie, a teacher whose school withstood thequake.
More aid was arriving and efforts at coordination were alsoimproving, with Sichuan setting up a hotline for victims andambulances with Beijing licence plates on the roads.
About 130,000 army and paramilitary troops had reached theprovince, Xinhua news agency said. More than 12.5 tonnes ofrelief goods had been airdropped and scores of helicopters wereflying in rescuers and aid.
The Foreign Ministry said quilts, tents, food, satellitephones, medicines and excavators were needed most.
But in some villages near the badly hit area of Beichuan,angry residents complained they had had little to eat and wereforced to drink contaminated water.
Many are sleeping outside or in makeshift shelters wherethe lack of water and blocked toilets has raised fears ofoutbreaks of diarrhoea and other infectious disease.
And new threats emerged from damaged dams.
Minister for Water Resources, Chen Lei, said such damagewas widespread and sounded far from assured in comments put onthe ministry Web site (www.mwr.gov.cn) on Thursday.
"Especially in Sichuan province, there are many dams,damage from the quake is extensive and the hazards areunclear," Chen said in the speech given to officials a dayearlier.
And the minister blamed more than nature for the dangers.
"Because the management systems of hydro-power stations arenot smooth and information channels are blocked, the extent oftheir damage is unclear," Chen said.
TRIUMPHS AMID DISASTER
Premier Wen Jiabao, a geologist himself, has made emotionalappeals from the disaster zone urging on workers and comfortingorphaned children. On Thursday he headed for Qingchuan, wherelandslides had blocked the flow of two rivers.
The disaster area is also home to China's chief nuclearweapons research lab in Mianyang, as well as several secretiveatomic sites, but no nuclear power stations.
The China Nuclear Engineering and Construction Corpreported that several of its facilities in Sichuan weredamaged.
The report on its website (www.cnecc.com) did not mentionany radiation leaks. A Western expert with knowledge of theMianyang lab said it was not likely the facilities were atserious risk.
The ruling Chinese Communist Party's Standing Committee metlate on Wednesday to assess the calamity that has thrown ashadow over preparations for the Beijing Olympics in August.
Amid the devastation, there were still small triumphs.
Rescuers reached a 62-year-old man after an all-nightsearch, prompting a round of applause from onlookers, who tookpictures with their mobile phones.
A teenaged girl was freed from the rubble of her school,but at the cost of both her legs which doctors had to amputate.
Thirty-three tourists from Britain, the United States andFrance were airlifted out of a panda reserve, but Xinhua said893 foreign tourists remained trapped. One German was among thevictims, the Foreign Ministry said.
Offers of help were pouring in.
Chinese rushed to blood banks in Beijing, with at least3,300 people in the capital donating blood in a single day.
China also welcomed supply flights from rival Taiwan and arelief team from Japan to help rebuild after the quake that isthe worst to hit China since 1976 when up to 300,000 died.
(Writing by Nick Macfie; Additional reporting by BenBlanchard, Emma Graham-Harrison, Guo Shipeng and Sally Huang)
