By Ben Blanchard
MIANYANG, China (Reuters) - China poured more troops intothe earthquake-ravaged province of Sichuan on Wednesday toquicken a search for survivors as time ran out for thousands ofpeople still buried under rubble and mud.
Some 30,000 troops will join 20,000 already digging throughrubble in the southwestern province, where Monday's7.9-magnitude earthquake crumpled homes, schools and hospitals,Xinhua news agency reported, citing a Ministry of Defencespokesman.
Across the region there were clusters of weary survivorsand rescuers pulling at tangled chunks of buildings and peeringinto crevices in hopes of finding someone still alive.
Attention also turned to survivors themselves, many of whomare without food and shelter in pouring rain.
"I've had nothing to eat since last night. I've only beengiven some bread and a bottle of water for my child," said BaiChenchu, in the devastated Sichuan city of Mianyang.
Survivors there sought shelter in a sports ground thatquickly became filthy as thousands gathered.
The national death toll from the quake has climbed past13,000 and is likely to rise steeply after media said 19,000people were buried in rubble in the Mianyang area of Sichuanalone.
A near-overwrought Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao was shown onstate television scrambling over the remains of a collapsedschool and using a bullhorn to urge on rescuers.
"At present the number one thing is still saving people,"Wen told local officials, according to Xinhua. "All collapsedbuildings must be fully checked. If there is a glimmer of hope,then put everything into rescuing."
The quake, the worst to hit China since 1976 when up to300,000 died, has muffled upbeat government propaganda threemonths ahead of the Beijing Olympic Games.
It has also quelled criticism from abroad over recentunrest in Tibet, with images of the human tragedy and heroicrescue efforts spurring offers of aid and an outpouring ofsympathy.
China's stock market has weakened following Monday'searthquake partly on fears that it could add to inflation,which is already at a 12-year high, but economists say theadded price pressures are unlikely to be lasting or widespread.
The quake's epicentre, north of the provincial capital,Chengdu, has little manufacturing. And while the regionaccounts for more than 9 percent of China's rice output, theearthquake largely devastated a steep and rainy area that ismainly known for oranges, peppercorn and vegetables.
Metals plants near Chongqing, which account for about 4.5percent of China's aluminium capacity, saw little damage.Several power plants that were shut down or disconnected fromthe grid after the quake have resumed normal operations andPetrochina restarted a major oil pipeline after a one-daystoppage.
SHELTER
Premier Wen was to tour Beichuan county on Wednesday, whereat least 1,000 students and teachers were buried under aseven-storey school. Rows of apartment blocks there collapsed.
"Beichuan has just disappeared. There's nothing left," saidLi Changqing, a salesman in Mianyang, the area's city centre.
Beichuan county alone was in urgent need of 50,000 tents,200,000 blankets and 300,000 coats, as well as drinking waterand medicine, Xinhua said.
The depth of destruction in many towns across themountainous area suggested searchers would find many morebodies than survivors among the toppled buildings.
Rain has frustrated rescuers' efforts to get to some areasand more rain is forecast for coming days.
"Everything became very difficult last night with the rain.There are a lot of people with no place to go," said KateJanis, a programme director with the aid organisation MercyCorps.
"There are still tremors, so everyone is staying outsideuntil we know it's completely safe," said Mianyang resident RenGaorui.
State media reported devastation in villages near theepicentre in Wenchuan, a remote county cut off by landslidesabout 100 km (60 miles) northwest of Chengdu. About 60,000people were unaccounted for across Wenchuan, authorities said.
Amid the overwhelming grief, there were also moments ofrelief when survivors were found. In Mianzhu, where rescuerssaid the death toll had risen to 3,000, about 500 people werepulled out alive from crushed buildings.
A group of 31 British tourists visiting a panda reserve inthe stricken area were unharmed, China's Foreign Ministry said.
Overnight, Chinese President Hu Jintao spoke about theearthquake, as well as Tibet and other subjects, with U.S.President George W. Bush.
Hu told Bush that Chinese people "deeply grieved" themassive loss of life in the earthquake, the Chinese ForeignMinistry said on its Web site (www.fmprc.gov.cn ).
The People's Bank of China said it was providing 5.5billion yuan (404 million pounds) to local banks in Sichuan andGansu provinces to help disaster relief and reconstructionthere.
Central authorities have ordered stricken areas to ensurefood supplies and price stability. But some Chinese newsreports described price hikes and shortages in quake-hit areas.
(Writing and additional reporting by Chris Buckley andLindsay Beck in Beijing; Editing by Ken Wills and JohnChalmers)