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 buried under rubble and mud.
Across the region, weary rescuers pulled at tangled chunksof buildings and peered into crevices for survivors afterMonday's 7.9 magnitude quake crumpled homes, schools andhospitals.
The government dispatched 50,000 troops to thesouth-western province to dig for survivors as the nationaldeath toll climbed past 13,000. It is likely to rise steeplyafter state media said 19,000 were buried in Sichuan's Mianyangarea alone.
On the edge of Mianyang, people roamed around a sportsground housing the homeless, holding cardboard signs with thenames of their relatives in hopes of being reunited or gettinginformation. Most were from nearby rural Beichuan county, oneof the worst-hit areas.
"They have said nothing about what's going to happen to us.This is just a temporary place. I don't know when or if we'llbe able to go home," said Hu Luobing, from a Beichuan villagewhere she said everything had been destroyed.
She was leaving her daughter in the shelter of the sportsground, where some 10,000 Beichuan survivors gathered, to lookfor clothes.
Others were seeking food and relief from a chilly 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, one of thousands camped out at the sports ground.
Another had only the clothes on his back.
"I'm wearing everything I own," said 15-year-old Xi Dongli.
Pictures from Beichuan, a hilly area that rescuers havestruggled to reach, showed near total devastation. Survivorslay alongside the dead in the open air, surrounded by buildingsreduced to mangled slabs of concrete.
PREMIER'S APPEAL
Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao, who has been in Sichuan leadingrescue efforts, making emotional appeals to urge on workers andvisiting crying, orphaned children, was in Beichuan by midday.
"If there is a glimmer of hope, then put everything intorescuing," Xinhua quoted him as telling local officials.
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.
"Beichuan has just disappeared. There's nothing left," saidLi Changqing, a salesman in Mianyang.
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 initially weakened after the quake,partly on fears that it could add to inflation that is alreadyat a 12-year high. But the market has since recovered andanalysts say the economic impact is unlikely to be lasting.
The quake's epicentre, north of the provincial capital,Chengdu, has little manufacturing or rice output.
Metals plants near Chongqing, which account for about 4.5percent of China's aluminium capacity, saw little damage. Powerplants have resumed normal operations and Petrochina hasrestarted a major oil pipeline after a one-day stoppage.
FOOD AND SHELTER
At the Mianyang sports ground, local volunteers weredistributing rice and water. One man handing out boiled eggswas mobbed, but desperate survivors were mostly orderly.
Central authorities have ordered stricken areas to ensurefood supplies and price stability, but some Chinese newsreports described price rices and shortages in quake-hit areas.
The extent 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.
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.
In Wenchuan's Yingxiu town, only 2,300 of its 10,000residents were accounted for, Xinhua reported.
Amid the overwhelming grief, there were also moments ofrelief when survivors were found. In Sichuan's Mianzhu, about500 people were pulled out alive from crushed buildings.
A group of 31 British tourists visiting a panda reserve inthe stricken area were safe, China's Foreign Ministry said.
(Writing and additional reporting by Chris Buckley andLindsay Beck in Beijing; Editing by Ken Wills)